Finding Themselves
by TheWalkingDead108
Summary: Finding Themselves means finding each other. Beth was never the strong one, but she has to pull herself out of the scared little girl and into the woman Daryl knew she was to find her family. Hope never came easy to him but Daryl's betting on it to take him back to her.
1. Chapter 1

**I couldn't just wait until October; this ship needed writing so I'm diving in with a kidnapped Beth. **

Beth's blonde hair was matted with blood as she leant her head gingerly against the pole beside her. It was throbbing badly, from where he'd knocked her out yesterday and, as she had woken up in the dank, dark room she'd been in for the last seven days, she'd found herself wishing unconsciousness would claim her again. She wanted to feel tough: brazenly plan an escape, break her hand and squeeze her fingers through the handcuffs or yell until she was hoarse and welcome a beating from the masked man upstairs, but she couldn't conjure up the metal. Daryl would be disappointed.

The thought of him made her stomach sink. They'd been so close to feeling safe. They had supplies, clean beds and even a piano and she had him. Daryl Dixon with his crossbow. It's only now, now when she's chained up and starving in somewhere her nightmares wouldn't stray that she realised how safe she could have felt. How safe he could make her feel, how much she could have trusted him. She never would have thought it when she'd met him, when he was just the gruff hillbilly with a poncho and anger management issues, but now she realised there was nowhere else she'd rather be then in that parlour, playing that piano with that man silently listening.

She whimpered from behind the gag around her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.

They hadn't said anything to her yet. For seven days she'd been ignored, apart from a beating when she yelled or a small glass of water practically thrown at her mouth every four hours or so. They weren't starving her, chucking her some stale bread now and again and they weren't denying her water: they didn't want her dead…yet. They were keeping her for something and Beth didn't want to stick around to know what. The lack of proper food was making her head spin and whenever she even thought about escaping her eyes watered. A faraway thought about Maggie, Hershel, Glenn, Daryl or anyone from the prison sent her dreaming and then reality would hit her and the whole situation would seem impossible. The funeral parlour felt like months ago, and the prison, decades.

Slow, heavy footsteps thumped their way over the wooden boards above her head and Beth's breathing stilted. There was more than one pair of feet.

The gag was wet with tears and she sniffled quickly, scared to make noise as the cellar door was roughly yanked open. Day light streamed in and she flinched away, trying to shield her eyes with her arm but she was pulled back by the cutting metal around her wrists.

"Could have cleaned her up a bit." A gruff voice echoed through the room.

Slowly, Beth's eyes adjusted to the light and she saw someone else stood beside the masked figure she'd come to fear. His face was still obscured but his companions wasn't and as they both walked down the creaking, wooden steps she tried to move back, curl in on herself and away from the tall men before her but the wall stopped her. The unmasked man's eyes roamed over her in the dusty light. His dark red corduroy jacket looked noticeably clean, either it was new, recently looted, or he had a set-up somewhere; a safe place with enough water to waste on washing. His jeans were still muddied though, along with his large black boots that stopped in front of her.

"Wanna check she's…satisfactory." The masked man asked, his tongue rolling over the last word with a smile in his voice.

The other took another step closer to Beth. She let out a whimper as he brought up his hand and reached out for her face, tracing a calloused, muddy finger down her tear stained cheek. She couldn't look any more. She wanted to imagine she was somewhere else but the stank smell of the new man's breath kept her in the cellar.

"She'll do just fine."

She could piece the words together, she wasn't stupid but she was trying desperately to slot them in any other way. Her mind was grasping at something other than kidnapping, slavery and captivity but it was stuck, stuck in a new world full of bad people and walkers. She didn't have rays of hope around her anymore and now her mind was filling in the evil blanks easily. The new man's eyes regarded the bloodied bump on her forehead, blossoming in different shades of purple and green and then turned back to the masked man with raised eyebrows.

"Was that really needed? She looks like she'd be 120lbs wet."

"Still the same price." The other man grumbled resolutely.

"Two oil drums of gas. Twenty cans of beans thrown in for good measure." He said tiredly, seemingly bored of the formalities. "She ready then?" He asked, nodding toward Beth.

She felt like cattle. Maybe they'd get a tape measure and check her measurements she thought before balling again at the thought of his hands on her skin.

The masked man nodded and then reached into his pocket drawing out the keys for her handcuffs.

"One word and you know what happens." He murmured, indicating to her head wound which seemed to throb all the more under his eyes.

He quickly unlocked the handcuffs and as Beth's hands came down from over her head, they tingled and ached, the blood flow suddenly uninterrupted. Taking the gag from over her mouth she opened her jaw wide. She went to feel the wounds on her wrists, soothe them somehow but she was stopped as she was shoved toward the man with the red jacket.

She stumbled and instinctively threw out her hands to break her fall. They landed on his chest and a grin spread across his face.

"She likes you." The masked man chuckled.

Beth took a step back flustered and trembling.

"Not yet but…she will." She shuddered at the words but her brow furrowed as she saw the forced smirk on the new man's face. He looked uncomfortable.

She didn't get to ponder over what that meant for too long, a little yelp escaped her mouth as the man quickly moved and grabbed one of her sore wrists. The pain forced her out of weariness, the closeness of the man heightened her awareness and as he started to drag her up the stairs she spun ideas through her mind. He said she would grow to like her. Perhaps she could earn his trust? Thank him for her freedom and promise to make him happy? Spin some wild story about a group who had her before who treated her worse, maybe he'd want to play the hero? The saviour of the helpless damsel in distress. Make him feel comfortable, underestimate her and then indirectly give her a chance. But that could still mean doing things she wasn't sure she could bring herself to do. She might have to manipulate him, use her body to make him listen. Her knees trembled at the thought of letting him touch her and she tripped up one of the steps.

"She sure is clumsy" The man grunted, tugging her harder until she stood again.

They reached the door and he flung it open, stepping into a disused kitchen, pausing slightly and then heading toward the front door. Beth had been unconscious when she'd been placed in the cellar. The last thing she had remembered was Daryl's voice calling her name and the sight of him desperately running after the car before she had made too much fuss and her captor had to knock her out with the butt of his gun. She didn't recognise this place. She started to follow the man outside and her brow furrowed as she was shoved yet again in the same direction she was already headed. Her fear turned to irritation for a moment and she let out a little huff.

The fresh air hit Beth like a ton of bricks and she stalled, taking a deep breath and tilting her head toward the sun which filtered through the trees around them. She revelled in the sound of the breeze rushing through the leaves and hoped never to go so long without seeing the sky ever again. It smelt like the farm and her heart squeezed.

"Gas is in that truck over there, Simon will wait for you to unload and then take it back to our camp. I'll take this one now" he said, indicating to Beth "get her settled in."

A hand shoved her again toward a muddied Ford and before she could stop herself she shot an annoyed glance at the red jacketed creep beside her. She knew it was stupid the second after she'd done it and her heart skipped a beat waiting for his reaction. A moment passed before he smirked, a kind of pleasant surprise taking over his face.

"Not a boring little mouse then." He chuckled.

She thought it might help her cause, getting him to like her, but even though he grabbed her hand gently, she wished it was rough, more distant, as he led her toward the car. Looking over at the dense wood surrounding them she debated running but she saw the gun on his belt and she was outnumbered and out muscled. Running now would be stupid.

He opened the door and motioned for her to step in. Any other time, any other situation it could be called gentlemanly, here he was just testing her obedience; coolly giving her the idea of freewill when in actuality she had none. His left hand rested nonchalantly on his gun.

She carefully stepped in. The door slammed shut beside her and she heard the men murmur to each other.

"Freenal wants to know if you've got any more girls on your radar. The other ones have settled in nicely."

"A small group found the parlour yesterday, just waiting for the men to let their guard down."

It had been a trap. The safe haven her and Daryl had found was constructed by some evil son of a bitch with a blossoming business of young girls. Swallowing nervously Beth glanced around her, looking for something, anything. Her eyes fell on a cracked half of a CD in the door which she quickly grabbed and stuffed in the pocket of her cargo pants. It was pretty dull, probably wouldn't do much damage - especially up against a gun - but it made her feel safer. She felt like it was a step forward. Something other than luck.

The car sunk as the man dropped himself into the driver's seat. Beth resolutely avoided his eyes, instead inspecting the wounds around her wrists and praying he wouldn't notice the slight bump in her pocket. The engine turned over and then sprung to life. She was grateful; the air had been stale and silent and her breath had started to hitch. A tape clicked in and an old country song started playing. The man swore and shoved his finger into the off switch, missing the first few times as the road bumped his shoulders up and down.

She cleared her throat nervously and tried to calm her breathing.

"Where…where are you taking me?"

She had faltered on the first word but started again. She didn't want to seem weak or unsure, whatever he was planning she didn't want to go back to the scared Beth from the farm. She wanted to own her sinewy limbs from her days with Daryl and hold her own like he'd expect her to. If she found the group again she didn't want to have taken a back step.

The man beside her sighed and scratched at the brown stubble that thickly covered his jaw.

"We have a group." He said after a few moments of contemplation. He wasn't used to divulging but every other girl he'd traded had squirmed and cried and beaten on the windows until he'd have to pull over and put them in the boot. This one was calm and even though he knew she'd try to escape, at least she was saving herself for a likely route. She was clever and he admired it, so much so that she deserved honesty and he felt he should tell her. "Thick walls, plenty of ammo and plenty of men…only three women though."

Her blood ran cold and her jaw clenched.

"Our…leader reminded us a few months back of the dwindling population if you catch my drift. So, we outsourced, found that masked dude back there and the rest is history."

Repopulation. Kidnapping. Rape. How could they possibly think that that was the way to restart the earth? They were back at 0 and they wanted the history books to tell of this? Every ancestor to be a rapist or a victim.

His eyes wandered everywhere but towards her. He'd never felt anything akin to shame about their plan before, but this blonde thing beside him reminded him of his life before all this: a calm drive through the country with a little miss that ended in a sweaty climax beside a hay bale. He knew the turn had changed him but it was easy to be the leery abuser when faced with a victim, he could play that role like it was made for him but what could he do now with this slow breathing, settled girl.

He found himself explaining. Rambling.

"It's not like some kinda dog breeding shit, no one's passed around or anything, they wanted them to settle in eventually…pick someone and get busy."

"Not 'we'?" She asked suddenly. He looked over at her confused so she elaborated, hoping his new found honesty would stop him loosing his shit over hers. "You said _they_ wanted them to settle…are you...different?"

Her voice got quieter and more tentative the further she got through her question and she was worried she'd over stepped her mark.

The man merely coughed, clearing his face, un-biting his lip and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Any weakness, any soft spot disappeared.

"No." He forced out. "I'm one of them…exactly the same."

Turning a corner, tall walls crept into view. They weren't worried about her knowing where she was. They could have blind folded her or knocked her unconscious but their blatant disregard for her awareness showed an arrogance: the idea that she wouldn't have the chance to retrace these steps, that there would be no revenge from those taken, that they would never leave. They might as well have handed her a map cause when she was inside those walls, they would never imagine her leaving.

The walls were made of bits of cars melded together, some windows cut out and a few rifles sticking through. Slowing down to a stop, Beth's body lurched forward a little and she steeled herself. She wouldn't let this place claim her: she wouldn't allow herself to feel overwhelmed or helpless anymore. There may be no exits or obvious ways to jump the walls but she'd spent weeks on the road, she hadn't been comfy or relaxed, holed up in some Fort Knox filled with meat heads and ammo. She could get out and find the others. Find the man who made her so sure she could do it; prove that his teachings weren't worth shit.

"Welcome home." The man murmured, the hint of a laugh on his breath.

**She deserves her 'toughness' but I didn't want it to be too drastic so if you think she's a little wimpy in this first chapter don't worry, she just needs a bit more of a push to realise she can kick ass so that'll be coming soon. **

**The next chapter will be with our other group: Maggie, Glenn, Sasha, Bob, Abraham, Eugene, Rosita, Rick, Michonne, Carl and of course our beloved Daryl. I didn't think I could do a continuation of 'A' justice so I've taken the wimp's way out and made Terminus into a 'safe haven'. **

**Please review, I've never written a Fanfic before and I want to do this pairing justice so constructive criticism would be lovely **


	2. Chapter 2

**So we're onto Daryl. If you didn't catch it in my last note, in this fic Terminus ended as a safe haven as I didn't feel I could continue 'A' justly and also make Beth's disappearance paramount if I continued on from the finale. **

**Hope you enjoy.**

He hadn't had a chance to speak to Maggie yet and he wasn't sure what he'd say. He couldn't simply saunter up, raise her hopes by saying Beth made it outta the prison and then drop her back on her ass by saying she was taken. When he'd been on his own it was easy for Beth's unwavering hope to fall away. He'd been stuck with Merle's fucking doppelgangers - who'd turned out to be ten times worse - wandering through forest and secretly hoping to spot someone familiar. Weak…that's how he'd felt. Fucking weak on his own, even with his crossbow. He didn't know where to even start looking and as he'd carried on with The Claimers, he'd felt his old self popping up, goading him and reminding him how easy it'd be to slip back. It wasn't till he saw Rick, Michonne and Carl that he'd remembered. They were his family now and he wasn't going to let some fucking red-necks take them. If that meant sacrificing himself so fucking be it, he didn't want to meet his maker as the self he was before the prison. If he was bowing out then, at least it was for something, it wasn't cause of some high as fuck tweaker over a crappy cartoon.

When he was in the forest he'd given up on her, given up on himself and when he'd found the others he couldn't leave em again so Terminus it was. Now they had a base, vehicles and shit loads of ammo. There was nothing stopping him for going out for her, driving around the whole fucking state if that's what it took. He need to tell the others first. He couldn't ask them to join him but they knew they'd be a few volunteers.

As he sat at the wooden bench in the courtyard, surrounded by strangers, he noticed Rick, Glenn and Maggie headed his way.

They'd been here for a few days, it was the only reason they half-trusted the rest of the folks here. If Maggie, Glenn, Sasha and Bob hadn't been here with their new friends they'd have found it a lot harder to believe this places safety and even with them here Daryl second guessed every kind smile and plate of food. It was in his nature and he didn't want to regret nothing anymore, he wasn't giving into these newbies too soon.

Daryl saw the anxious look on Maggie's face and the quickness of her feet as she was followed by the other two to where he sat. He'd finished his food and had started studying the map one of the others had handed him earlier. Swallowing, he stood and faced the trio. Rick had told her, he knew it from the tenseness in her shoulders and hope in her eyes. Fuck.

"Rick told me about Beth…you were with her? Where's she now?" She wasn't mincing her words as she quickly fired her questions out. Rick and Glenn stood behind her, Rick with his head bowed and eyes curious and Glenn holding his breath.

Daryl took a breath.

"She got taken…some religious crack pot in a black car." He growled, clenching his jaw.

Maggie and Glenn's eyes widened and even Rick's head raised, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Taken? What do you mean taken?" Maggie asked, her voice raising slightly as she moved anxiously from one foot to the other. "Taken from where? Daryl…I…how did you just. Y-you…" She stumbled, panicked over the words, her voice getting harsher. Glenn looked over at her worried. "W-Why didn't you do something?" They came out in a rush and Daryl's heart clenched.

"Maggie" Glenn said softly, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and ashamed but she didn't take the words back and Daryl didn't want her to. Everybody was being too fucking forgiving for his liking and soon there would be nothing to forgive anyway, he was going to find her…he would, even if it meant tracking down every asshole, bastard walker in the country.

Clenching his jaw, he turned, picked his crossbow up, hitched it over his shoulder and grabbed the map he'd been studying, ignoring Maggie's outburst.

"This s'where she was taken…that's the crossroads I ran to." He murmured, pointing at two circled points on the map. All three pairs of eyes darted down and followed his finger as he traced a dirty finger from another circled point. "Imma take a car and head back, see if there's anything there to track."

Maggie let out a breath and nodded. "I'll come." She said simply.

"Now?" Glenn asked, his eyes darting between Daryl and his wife anxiously. "Maybe, we should go Daryl, you only just got here. You won't be much help if you can hardly stand." He knew it was pointless as soon as he'd suggested it. Daryl didn't even acknowledge him, simply rolled up the map and nodded at Maggie.

"You know these people, reckon you could find us a car? Some supplies, case we find a lead?"

"Yeah. I'll sort it with Gareth now." She strode off, her stance all business, her prior anger struck down by the prospect of finding her sister. She was sick of sitting around and even though she couldn't help but blame Daryl, she knew he'd have tried as hard as she would have to keep Beth safe. He was part of their family.

Daryl tucked the map in his waistband and then looked up at Glenn and Rick who were both watching him warily.

Glenn sighed and shook his head. "I'm in." He said simply.

Merely nodding once in acceptance, Daryl went to walk through them, over to where Maggie was talking to Gareth, but was stopped by Ricks hand on his chest. He looked up at him through a few strands of dark hair to see a concerned look on the man's face.

"Maggie didn't mean what she said.." He started.

"She did. Ain't nothing wrong with wha she said either."

Rick considered this for a moment. Daryl was right; Maggie had meant it no matter how guilty she'd feel about it later, but he still didn't want Daryl carrying around the same guilt he himself had when everything with Sophia had happened.

"You don't owe us anymore Daryl, this isn't Sophia. Beth's tough, you can leave it a night…"

They'd just got somewhere safe and already the group was splitting apart, splintering at the edges. They still had no idea where Carol, Tyreese, Lizzy and Mika were…or if they even made it out of the prison and now Daryl wanted to leave? As much as Rick wanted to find Beth he couldn't help but think it might be a lost cause, but he could see the determination in Daryl's eyes and he knew he wouldn't be able to convince him to stay.

"I'm going." His tired voice grumbled through lack of sleep but it didn't sound any less firm as he looked him straight in the eye and all Rick could do was sigh and step aside. There was no point pushing it so he stood and watched them walk away, already planning to him them once he'd got Carl settled.

"Gareth's giving us the truck. It's already packed with some food and weapons, it's usually a backup in case they need a quick getaway." Maggie said as Glenn and Daryl strode up to her from across the court yard. "Should we let the others know where we're going?" She asked.

"Nah, Rick'll tell'em. Which way?" Daryl replied, quickly, already edging toward where he'd guessed the truck to be.

She looked a bit taken aback almost as if she was expecting there to be more preparations. This was what she wanted, her sister to be their top priority and even though she repeated that in her head over and over as followed Daryl and Glenn over to the truck around the back of the west building, she couldn't help but wish Daryl had brought closure when he'd arrived, some kind of definitive ending so she could start again in this new place. She hated the thought but what if she'd been turned, she could be a walker, one of thousands and miles away from here with no chance of tracking.

"We ain't got all day." Daryl shouted from the driver's seat of the truck, his head out of the window.

Maggie hadn't noticed how slow she'd been wandering and she'd all but stopped as an unwelcome thought of a turned Beth flittered through her mind but his gruff voice snapped her out of it and she hurried over. Glenn took the map and the backseat knowing Maggie would want the front and she'd barely had time to close the door behind her when Daryl stepped on the accelerator and the truck roared through the gates that were opening for them to leave.

* * *

"Ben! That was quick. This the newbie?"

His name was Ben. She didn't know why but he didn't look like a Ben, it seemed too simple for someone so complicated and he was too big for it.

"Yeah." He replied simply to the little scrawny blonde man dragging back a fashioned sliding door. Despite her nerves she couldn't help but marvel at the construction, it must've taken months to gather enough metal to make walls this thick. She cringed away from the blonde guy as he looked her up and down when she walked through the opening, her back accidentally pushing into Ben's arm and he shoved her forward. She bit her lip to stop herself huffing, she knew Ben didn't mind earlier but his shoulders had tensed up when they'd arrived and his face had hardened.

"She looks like she'd scrub up well."

Beth shivered away from his smirk and quickly stepped further into the compound. It said something: that she rather move further into the court yard full of armed men than stay close to the current creep.

"Backup." Ben's mumbled words were directed toward him, quiet but harsh and the boys eyes widened with a cocky grin.

"Pfft, possessive much. You know Freenal's rules, she's fair game till you get the say so."

"I'm just fucking exhausted Spencer." Ben replied wearily after a moment of seeming to collect himself.

Beth's eyes grew wide as she looked around at the open space she'd walked into. Tents and huge white marquees were lined up in make shift streets and burnt out logs were stuck in the ground at each corner, burnt at the top as if they were lit recently.

"He in there?" Ben asked, pointing at the largest tent as Spencer yanked the door and slid it closed behind them. A murmured assent made him move and with a small shove to Beth's lower back, she started walking.

She'd been hoping for something less put together, a place with holes and gaps but her heart sank as she noticed the men dotted around each holding guns and with knives stuffed down their belts.

Names hung over the flaps of each tent and as they walked she still had yet to see a woman's name. She found herself hoping they just bunked up and they were simply family names but her heart hammered when she walked through the flap of the tent before Ben and ran into a huddle of men pouring over a large map on the table in-between them. Beth stopped in her tracks, stubbornly staying still as Ben followed her in and almost ran into her back. None of them had noticed them yet and she wished she could scamper away but then she imagined Daryl beside her. How he'd puff out his chest and glare them all down, put an arm out behind him to check she was still there and then level his crossbow between their eyes. She almost smiled.

"Wow…no wonder she cost more than the others." A deep voice chuckled from a tanned solid man with greying hair who had straightened up from the table. He'd been the first to notice them and as he announced their arrival, the others faces turned to regard the pair.

"Bet she's brand spanking new." Another said.

She went to flinch, find the owner of the voice and cower under their leering eyes but she stopped herself.

_You got this Greene, just'a bunch a jumped-up pricks tha s'all. You got this. _

Beth could almost hear Daryl's voice rumbling in her ear, his breath tickling its way through her hair. Her face hardened and her shoulders went back. Lifting her head, her eyes met those of the man sauntering toward her.

He stopped and scoffed, looking at Beth and then back at the men behind him, a grin fixed on his face. "Got us a firecracker here boys." He announced.

A few jeers and catcalls erupted from the group and she felt Ben shuffle uncomfortably behind her but Beth didn't waver. Inside she was squirming: her whole stomach was sinking, gravitating to her knees that just wanted shake their way out of the tent but she clenched her fist till her nails bit her skin and stood still.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just havin a bit of fun." He chuckled, his apologies completely insincere. "The names Freenal and who might you be, little thing?"

Her name, she wasn't going to give them her name. In here she couldn't be herself. She couldn't be the messed up mixture of scared and strong that Daryl knew and she couldn't be the hopeful little sister or the dutiful daughter. Here she could only be resilient, heavy duty, shutting her old self out until she found a way to get back. If Daryl could hide himself for all those years she sure could.

They weren't having her…they weren't having Beth.

Swallowing, she tilted her head up and looked back into his glinting grey eyes.

"Kim."

**Hope you liked it. Daryl is super hard to get the voice of so I've been re-watching tons of his scenes trying to get it right but if it's a little OOC a few pointers would be great. **

**Find me on tumblr: thewalkingdead108**

**Review please, I need all the help I can get. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Heads up, Daryls and Beth actions aren't happening parallel to each other. Beth was captured and held for a week but I'm guessing Daryl's time with the claimers, reunion with Rick and Daryl and arrival at Terminus took about two weeks so Beth has another week or so with the camp before she catches up with the others story. I think I just confused myself…my bad. Hope you understood it. **

"This is your tent" Ben explained, shoving her lightly through the flap of a tent. She had noticed it was beside his as they'd walked there and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. He didn't seem as bad as the others but he was by no means 'good'.

Freenal had had a rundown of the rules of 'his' compound, drawing lines in the sand and quietly making her skin crawl for a good twenty minutes. Told her she was to find someone to settle with and sharpish. There wasn't a veto or any kind of exception to be made. She was a female and she had to carry offspring by the end of the year, there was no two ways about it, but don't worry, they weren't heathens: she would only have to carry one man's children. Rape was fine by their standards but an eventual town full of brothers and sisters would apparently be overstepping the line. Sarcasm practically dripped through her mind as she looked around the sparse tent. She guessed she should be grateful, I mean maybe she'd find someone alright, get them to trust her, let their guard down so that she could run, but then she thought of the other girls who'd have to be 'bought'. One for each man and she'd already seen around thirty. No women yet.

When one of the men had stepped forward and grabbed her arm, asking for some alone time to convince her to choose his greasy ass, Ben had stepped with him and batted it away. She should have felt some kind of grateful but she couldn't. He was one of them, simply hoping she'd pick him and be no more than a baby maker. He didn't want his new toy taken away.

"You pick your man and move in with him at the end of the week." Ben stumbled over his words sharply before kicking a box in the corner. "Bedding's in there. Lavs are around the corner. You try and wander further you get a bullet in the knee, you try and jump the fence you get one in the head. Hear me?"

She nodded. Faking a yawn she sat down on the camp bed, relishing in the idea of it for a moment and hoping he'd get the hint and leave. There was a moment of silence before he coughed and drew back the flap of her tent, one leg already out.

"I'll wake you tomorrow for chores."

Breathing a sigh of relief she lay back. Despite the surprising comfort of the pillow under her head, she couldn't let all her breath out. She could still hear the murmurs of men in the air around her.

However fucked up their code was she knew it would stand: the men looked at Freenal with reverence and respect, she didn't believe any of them would go against him but she still went to grasp the broken CD in her pocket, knowing she could summon the courage to drive it into the neck of anyone who came too close. Beth was surprised they hadn't patted her down, searched her for weapons, she guessed it was their arrogance rearing its head again. It was a flaw of theirs, a flaw she could exploit. They'd already underestimated her in the mere hour she'd been here: maybe she could use her doe eyes and small frame to her advantage for once, trick herself out of here.

Turning onto her side she burrowed herself into the clean smelling blanket and tucked into a ball, her knees almost touching her chin. She didn't have to be tough in here though, she thought. Here, in her tent, she could think like Beth and remember her family: Wish herself silly that Daryl wasn't alone. It killed her to think that…to think that he'd give up the little bit of hope she thought she'd somehow given him and that he was wandering around on his own with his crossbow, silent and stoic. She found herself imagining them all together again gathered round a campfire in the woods somewhere, roasting a squirrel: Maggie and Glenn leaning into each other, Carol rocking Judith with Lizzy and Mika at her side and Tyreese and Sasha arguing about the same old crap.

She could almost hear Rick murmuring quietly to Carl from beside Daryl's side as he, Michonne and Bob silently stared into the fire. It hurt her when she could so easily see the empty spot where she should be but then she smiled in spite of herself and her family slowly sent her to sleep.

* * *

Glenn folded and unfolded the map countless times as they sat quietly in the car, the engine purring beneath them. He'd wanted to say something but it'd stuck in his throat when he noticed the way Daryl clenched the steering wheel. They'd were going somewhere with the hope of a trail but if there wasn't, all they had was a cross roads that simply lead to more crossroads. He wasn't about to suggest they give up he just wanted to point out the logistics but he knew now wasn't the time.

His brow furrowed as he took one last look at the map. "How long ago was it?"

Maggie had jumped slightly, used to the silence for the past twenty minutes.

"'bout two weeks." Daryl replied, his gaze still focused on the road.

Glenn nodded and looked back at the map briefly. He didn't want to ask unnecessary questions, they both seemed too anxious but he also thought they needed someone with a clear head. Of course he cared about Beth, he loved her, but Maggie was emotional, finally hoping for her sister after almost giving up when she found him and realised he hadn't seen her either and Daryl…even though Glenn knew it hadn't been his fault, Daryl was kicking himself and as much as he would never admit it, Glenn knew he was hurting.

"How long did it take you to get to the cross roads?"

He took a moment and scratched at his jaw "Was 'round 9 at night when she-' He paused, not knowing what to say, kidnapped seemed to childish, so after clearing his throat he carried on. "I got there… maybe like 5?" He replied, slightly unsure.

Glenn nodded again. "So like twenty hours walk?"

"Nah man, 5am, like seven hours run."

There was a furious shuffling of paper from the back as Glenn grabbed at the map and checked his measurements.

"Dude…Dude, that was like forty miles." That was above and beyond the call of duty. Glenn didn't think he could go that hard with all his supplies through the night and he was supposed to be the fast one. He saw Maggie's head turn too, both of them staring at Daryl waiting for him to respond but he merely shrugged, still staring forward as the truck moved quickly along untended roads.

"You were together all that time before?" Maggie's question was soft and Daryl couldn't help but glance over at her. She'd shifted in her seat a little, no longer turned toward the window and her face was curious.

He didn't want to tell them everything. Those weeks seemed private, something to keep between himself and Beth. He'd tried so god damn hard since they were separated to not think about it them. Fuck…if Merle could see him now he'd slap his pansy ass.

"Mhm." He replied.

His short answer made Maggie drop her gaze. Glenn could see there was more to say and he couldn't help but be a little curious.

"You guys were holed up in this house then?" He asked softly, not wanting to push too hard and be left with a silent Daryl.

"Nah, we were only there a couple 'a days. Camped out in the forest most a' time."

Maggie snorted softly beside him and he looked over in surprise, waiting for her to explain. She shook her head. "I can't imagine Beth in the woods for that long. And you with your squirrels…it's just funny is all." She laughed gently for a moment and then it ran out as she realised she might never see her again. Daryl saw her expression cloud over and Glenn reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find her Maggie." He offered.

Daryl knew Glenn meant well but he couldn't help but realise how pointless that was. They sat in silence for a few minutes as each of them thought over how much they believed Glenn's help until Daryl cleared his throat.

"She was pretty good with squirrels…it was the snake she almost threw up." He murmured, his mouth turning up at the corner.

"Snake? You got her to eat snake?" Maggie asked animatedly, Glenn chuckling in surprise behind them. "She barfed after eating frog's legs once."

"Ate it…didn't like it though. Didn't like the moonshine neither."

"What? You gave my sister moonshine?" She asked, trying to sound angry but not being able to hold back a smile.

"She's a happy drunk." He added simply with a scoff.

"I bet she is." Maggie giggled slightly, staring out of the window and trying to imagine her little sister with slurred words and unsteady feet.

Daryl went to say something else about her, distract Maggie a little more so the truck wasn't so God damn depressing but he recognised the turning to the left and as he took it, his face hardened.

"This it?" Glenn asked, shifting forward in his seat.

All he could do was nod as they pulled over on the side of the road. Letting Maggie and Glenn follow him he grabbed his crossbow, quickly got out of the car and started to walk briskly down the road, closer to the house. He tried to block it out, the memory of the cars squealing tires and the thoughts that had raced through his mind as he tried to imagine what they would want her for. There had been a moment where he'd thought maybe she'd left him, maybe she'd realised how slim the chance was that he'd make it out alive and someone offered her a chance at somewhere safe, but then he remembered her screaming she wouldn't leave him and he knew she wouldn't, she would'a waited to check, they'd gone through too much.

Daryl's head turned quickly as the moaning sound of four walkers drifted through the open space and toward the three of them. They were far enough away to not be a problem but he stopped and watched as they wandered through the grave yard. He saw one of them brush past a head stone and a dead flower fall off the top. His jaw clenched and he reached down to load his crossbow.

Glenn's brow furrowed as Daryl started to walk over to the walkers, away from the house, his eyes hard.

"Daryl?" Maggie shifted beside him and drew out her knife from her belt.

"Wait." Glenn said cautiously, anxiously watching as Daryl took off at a run. He knew he could handle himself but that wasn't the reason he was holding back. Normally, he'd wade in their just to be safe but he noticed something was different. When they'd faced the walkers in the prison or came across a few stranglers on the road, Daryl's eyes always flittered around the group, checking they were behind him, beside him and alive. This time he'd forgotten the others were even there…he claimed those walkers for himself and they could almost feel his anger as he approached them.

The first walker met an arrow to the head and fell down solidly. Not breaking his stride Daryl yanked the arrow out and aggressively shoved it up ones jaw with a grunt. His breathing heavy he pulled out a knife stabbing the next and then with one left he dropped the knife, picked up a log and ran at it.

Glenn and Maggie couldn't help but cringe as he knocked the walker down and then stood over it, his arms tensed as he brought the log down on its head over and over again. The blood splattered up his pants and over his shirt as he grunted, his face contorted, all his strength going into flattening the walkers head before his legs gave out and he slumped onto the grass.

A few moments passed where they simply watched him, sitting on the floor his face toward the forest and his shoulders heaving with heavy breaths. They were too shocked and confused to realise they were staring until Maggie coughed.

"I'm going to check out the house, don't think he'll be much help for a while." She didn't mean it harshly, in fact her words sounded sympathetic. She'd never seen him so…broken.

Glenn was about to follow but stopped as he saw Daryl heave himself up, his eyes fixed on a seemingly unremarkable grave stone.

His booted feet dragged as he walked over and his face was unreadable. Fingers lightly danced over the stone and he walked past it slightly, only to stop at an unruly bush of yellow flowers, unceremoniously yanking a handful out of the dirt. Without stopping, as if he were trying to ignore his own actions, Daryl walked back and placed the flower on top of the stone, replacing the dead, fallen one at his feet.

After realising Glenn wasn't following Maggie had stopped as well and both watched him. Maybe he knew them? Maybe that's why he and Beth had found this place at all? Neither of them were going to ask.

"What'r yer waitin' for?" Daryl grunted, his head down as he stalked past them and up to the immaculate front door.

* * *

"Kim, get up."

His voice startled her awake and held no room for debate as she opened her eyes quickly and saw his shadow hovering by the door of her tent.

It took her a few seconds to remember where she was…her eyes flickering all around her and her brow furrowing until she heard clanging and deep voices outside. It hit her like a weight dropping from the sky and she swallowed down a noise. She liked to think it wouldn't have been a whimper but she wasn't sure.

"Yeah." She replied shortly after clearing her throat. "Give me a second."

He didn't say anything back but simply stayed standing where he was. She was thankful he hadn't just walked in, even in this fucked up place Ben seemed to remember to respect some kind of privacy and quickly throwing off the blanket she shoved on one of the jumpers they'd left her the night before and threw up her hair back into a ponytail.

Beth could have walked out like that. There was nothing else for her to do: she hadn't bothered changing last night and she didn't want to wash when she was somewhere her cleanliness could gain her unwanted attention, but she faltered, her hand on the flap of the tent.

She curled her hands into fist and squeezed harshly. Lifting her head up and clenching her jaw she imagined the rough redneck beside her, his hand grasping the top of her arm and directing her forward. She wasn't even sure he knew he was doing it a lot of the time, his hand would reach out to check where she was and grasp onto her, making her feel small and safe but his eyes wouldn't really rest on her, he'd be too busy checking around them to notice how aware she was of his touch.

"Ready?" Ben's bored voice drawled.

She didn't answer, merely held her head high and ducked out of the flap. He was still wearing his corduroy jacket and his scuffed black boots. They shuffled as she stepped out and with one hand griping the strap over his shoulder which held his rifle, he moved away from the tent pole he'd been leaning on to face her.

He didn't know why he'd expected her to look any different. Maybe he'd thought she'd have cleaned up a little now she had running water and soap at hand but then he remember that time Carla had brushed her hair, how the rest of the camp had leered at her. A few men thought it had meant she was welcoming advances, that she'd put a sign up 'OPEN FOR BUISNESS'. He cringed, remembering how he'd found that girl after they'd finished, and the stone cold eyes she had now, how he was met with them whenever he saw her now.

Kim though - he thought - Kim's eyes were already hard. She wasn't a little girl waiting to realise the horrors of the world they lived in now. Maybe she'd fare better than Carla.

"I'll take you to the kitchens, Freenal's organised for you to help out his wife, Megan." Ben said, walking off down the fashioned street between other tents. "Sure you're dying to improve your culinary skills." He commented sarcastically, not bothering to look behind him to see the angry look she threw his way as she followed behind him.

Megan. Maybe she was his wife before all the zombie shit went down, but Beth couldn't help but hope she was captive too. It felt horrible, her wishing someone in the same situation as her but she wanted someone there to reinforce how fucked up the whole thing was. She couldn't stand being surrounded by these creepy backward men who all seemed to agree that rape was the way forward. Ben didn't seem too keen on it but one of around thirty wasn't much help.

"What do the big strong men get to do today?" Beth asked stonily, Kim's mask fully covering her nervousness as they walked past a group of three men, all looking up from eating to watch her as they perched on the edge of a log.

"I'm keepin an eye out for you. Freenal reckons you could cause a bit of havoc, they're all biting at the chance to get you on their own." He tried to sound bored but his voice clipped and he shifted his rifle on his shoulder.

She nodded and swallowed back a gag, walking a little quicker so she was beside him. As much as she wanted to completely engulf herself in the tough exterior she's carved out for herself, she wasn't going to turn down the extra help.

They abruptly turned a corner and walked straight into a tent, its flaps held up and secured to the top as wisps of smoke and the smell of bacon wafted out of it.

"Another new recruit for you Megan." Ben announced; his large hand gesturing at Beth beside him as her eyes darted around the room.

Utensils and long-life food littered the area, gas canisters under hobs which looked like they'd be ripped out of a nearby kitchen. She marvelled at how much effort had been made to create something that resembled a kitchen in the middle of nowhere under a glorified tent.

A slender woman paused halfway through chopping an onion and turned around, her brown, clean hair swaying past her shoulders. She looked like she had missed the apocalypse, frozen back before the turn and been plopped here all clean and shiny. With a light dusting of make up over her face and an award winning smile, she walked toward them.

"Kim right?" She asked: a knife still in her right hand. She was allowed a knife? Maybe Beth would be too.

She nodded, still trying to get used to her new name but didn't smile back.

"I'm Megan. Head Chef of this lovely establishment and Freenal's wife…the grey haired guy you met last night…well he likes to say he's still a brunette but he's not fooling anybody. I tried to convince him to get those wirey little fuckers dyed but he's stubborn. Just makes him look so old ya know?"

Beth's eyes widened as the woman rambled on, her left forefinger dancing playfully on the tip of the large kitchen knife. She was so at ease. No one was guarding her, in fact as she looked back at Ben, she seemed in charge.

"We're cool here, take station outside, you'll just get in the way."

"But Freenal said to…"

"Well Freenal can take it up with me okay?" She waited, hand on hip until Ben murmured his assent, glanced quickly at Beth beside him and walked outside.

"Right then, to work." The woman chirped turning around to the onions she'd been chopping. "Stir that for me." She directed, her back to Beth, her knife pointing at a pot of soup on the hob.

Beth took a breath. She could run now…she could grab a knife from the counter and try and stab her way out but this seemed like a test. Even though Megan had turned away from her, she could see her head slightly tilted to the side so that she could see any quick movement and her arms looked lean and capable. It wouldn't be smart to make a move now…so she'd wound a few men at most and then what? They had guns and she was outnumbered hugely, she didn't even know where she'd even start looking for a way out.

So she simply stepped forward, grabbed a wooden spoon from the side and slowly and evenly started stirring.

Beside her Megan turned her head and looked at the young girl, all coolness and mud, and smiled. Maybe she'd survive them yet.

**Hope you enjoyed it, please review, it's the only way I know whether I'm heading in the right direction. Slight paraphrasing from GOT in that last line, if you caught it I love you! **

**My tumblr: TheWalkingDead108**


	4. Chapter 4

It hadn't taken them long to check round the house. There were no walkers, not even the ones Daryl had taken out in the basement, no blood stained the floor or scuffed the walls and the cupboard had been restocked: dust free and newly sealed.

"It was trap." Daryl growled from his seat at the kitchen table. He was trying desperately not to look at the empty seat beside him. Even the light was the same as that morning, it was like she could have just left the room. "This whole place…shoulda' fuckin' known."

Pulling out his knife he stabbed it into the table and then stood abruptly. Glenn who'd been leaning against the counters and Maggie in the door frame both jumped, watching him carefully.

"Someone musta' taken' down the line we had up on the porch, else we woulda' heard the walkers gatherin up." He ranted, pacing up and down the kitchen.

"Who would do this?" Maggie asked, pushing herself off the door frame.

"And why?" Glenn chimed in. "Don't we all have enough to deal with, what with all the geeks…and the governor…and the geeks?" He asked tiredly, irritated.

They were silent for a few moments. Daryl leaned on the window sill and stared outside, his shoulders tense and Maggie and Glenn were stealing looks at each other and wondering where to go from there. There weren't any leads: no yellow brick road, convenient note or map with a location circled.

"So it's all been…wiped?" Maggie asked tentatively.

Daryl nodded tersely and turned to face them. He still couldn't look them in the eye so he stared at the floor. "Foods replaced, walkers gone, sheet music back in the bookcase…" He didn't want to explain the last one so he stood and chewed at his thumb, mumbling behind it. "Even had time t'fuckin' wash up." He observed, noticing their used cutlery had been stored again.

Maggie shivered and rubbed her arms, the whole thing creeped her out, why would they go to all this effort to take one girl? If they'd been well-meaning surely they'd have simply walked up and knocked on the door. They'd taken a girl and left Daryl, even used walkers to distract him. These 'kidnappers' were being overly cautious or they weren't equipped for a face to face fight, either way they'd played it smart. She couldn't help but briefly wonder what had made Daryl drop his guard: he'd have had to have opened the door to be overwhelmed by that number of walkers and the Daryl she knew took every precaution under the sun, maybe he'd been distracted?

Shaking her head clear, she pulled out the map again from Glenn's back pack. There was no point standing around thinking on what _had _happened all they could do was plan forward.

She smoothed it out on the table and leaned over it. Glenn stood beside her and Daryl moved forward.

"Okay, so there are two possible routes the car could have gone." She started, after clearing her throat, her finger tracing the two roads Daryl had reached.

"Best to check the tracks too, could'ave driven down there and joined a road further on." Daryl said lowly, back to chewing his thumb. The other two nodded.

"This one leads to a town not far away, could be as easy as that? They knew you didn't have a car and it's at least a four day walk, maybe they'd have thought you'd give up by then?" Glenn said, looking up at Daryl and pointing out a small cluster of buildings.

"Worth'a shot." Daryl agreed, letting out a breath and straightening up. The other two did the same.

"We can't do anything today, we're losing the light and Rick wants us back for the night." Maggie said folding up the map and putting it back in the backpack, trying to pretend there was no room for negotiation but not having the strength to carry it off.

Daryl wanted to argue but he knew she was right, even if there was something helpful they wouldn't be able to spot it in the dark and waving flashlights around was just asking for trouble.

"Alright." He agreed after a few moments of tense silence.

They grabbed their things, Daryl shifting the crossbow over his shoulder and then all walked down the hallway toward the front door. Daryl's steps faltered as he caught a glance of the piano and the coffin, exactly how they'd been when he and Beth had sat there. He could almost hear the tinkering of keys and her soft voice sending him to sleep but then he jolted himself out of it, remembering what they were there for. Someone had lured them into this place and taken her just as he'd realised how important she was.

He strode on, following Glenn and Maggie back to the car.

* * *

When they got back to Terminus, Gareth led them to the library, briefly explaining to them that that was where Rick was waiting. They dutifully followed, Glenn thanking him for the car and supplies as they walked.

"Good luck…with finding your sister." Gareth said, a little uncomfortable as he addressed Maggie. She nodded her thanks and Gareth pushed the door open. "I'll be in the kitchen…think you guys should have a little privacy." He said as they realised the rest of their group were gathered in the small space too.

Dust hovered in the air, floating around with no place to go as the candles flickered around the room. Weird shadows danced around the walls as the group shuffled, opening up to let the three in.

None of them had had a chance to explain their trip to the rest of them, hadn't even let them know about Beth, but Daryl guessed by the steel and sadness in their eyes that Rick had told them.

"We're figuring out our next move." Rick said simply.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked from beside him.

"We're a group." Rick replied, looking around him, his eyes resting on all of them. "We've been through so much, taken on everything and survived for each other, with each other…with Beth." Daryl's eyes shot up and met Ricks at the mention of her name.

"We can't let you three go looking on your own. She's one of us and we can't let her down." Carl piped up from his side.

The others all nodded in agreement as if they'd already discussed and decided; no room for negotiation.

Maggie smiled and Glenn eyes were wide and grateful, pride for the people they called family oozing out of their bones. Daryl nodded and the corner of this mouth turned up slightly. He couldn't imagine Carl would've been happy when he found out they'd gone to look for her without him and Michonne looked like she was itching for her katana.

Abraham, Rosita, Eugene and Tara were hanging back. They'd only been here a few days, only seen the others yesterday and their strength and sense of family was intimidating. Rosita and Eugene wanted to be a part of it, they seemed like good people but they needed to prove themselves…maybe this could be their chance?

"I'm in." Rosita said abruptly, her confidence apparent in the way she leant on one hip, but her slight fear of being shot down crinkled her fingers as she shoved them in her back pockets.

"I will help also." Eugene said curtly.

Glenn and Maggie smiled gratefully at their input. Abraham coughed gruffly. "Guess I'm in for the ride too."

Tara caught Glenn's eyes and nodded. She didn't think it needed to be said, she owed them, even if it was only Glenn and Rick who knew it.

Sasha, Bob and Michonne stayed silent. They'd been quick to stand behind the idea after Carl, were already thinking about what weapons to take.

Rick had nodded gratefully at everyone. He knew who he wanted at his back, who he trusted to do anything to get Beth back to them, but he wasn't about to turn down the extra eyes.

Daryl shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, his head down but his eyes looking through the hair that swept across his face. He couldn't help but think how much faster he'd be on his own, how much quieter he'd be. But then he remembered that Beth wasn't his, these people were her family and they cared about her just as much as him, angry about what happened to one of their own. They'd known her longer too. Sure, they'd said the odd word to each other at the prison but he hadn't _known_ her, not till the prison fell and now _all_ he seemed to know was her.

"Good." Rick replied gratefully, before turning to the three. "So, any leads?" He knew it was long shot, they hadn't looked overly optimistic when they'd walked in but he still looked between them anxiously until his eyes rested on Daryl.

"Nah man, they sweeped the whole place, looks like we were never there." He murmured. He couldn't ignore Carl's disappointment as the boy's shoulders dropped but he looked away and carried on, turning Glenn around and taking out the map.

Quickly crossing over to one of the tables, he laid it out and as the rest of the group gathered, he explained their plan.

Maggie stood back studying the man. He'd always hated the spotlight, deferred decisions to Rick and followed him loyally but what had happened to Beth seemed to have kicked him into the forefront. He was the only one who had been there, so he had to step-up, admit that they needed him now, that he couldn't just 'let them get on with it'.

He was pointing at separate locations, his forehead furrowed and his voice calm and gravelling, picking possible structures they could have taken her to.

"We've already spoken to Gareth and he says he can spare the vehicles and supplies provided we come back when we've got her. They need the man power here, barely enough of them to cover watches." Rick said.

"Could go grab the bag you buried, loada ammunition in there…they know 'bout that?" Daryl asked, nodding toward the closed doors.

"Yeah, they offered up their own at first so I thought it only fair."

Daryl nodded in agreement. "Should find somewhere secure closer to where we're looking, gon' be easier than comin' back every night."

Rick pointed at the cluster of houses Maggie and Glenn had been looking at earlier that day. "We'll head here tomorrow then. No use hanging back. They went to the trouble of pushing a load'a walkers on you so they're probably not confident in their numbers or their weapons.

"Half of us can push in, scout out the houses at daybreak. Rest can hang back at the crossroads make sure no one gets past till s'all clear. If we find nuthin', we'll board up'a house and all hole up there till the next day."

Rick agreed and stood, hands on hips. "Everyone get that?" He asked, looking around at the gathered group. All of them nodded, Glenn ready with a short 'sounds good' and Carl with a 'yeah'. "Right, go fill yourselves up in the cafeteria. Michonne, you and I'll go find Gareth, help out with sorting the vehicles we'll need."

He went to walk out the doors after an assertive nod, Michonne on his heels.

"I'll grab the bag." Daryl murmured, straightening up and moving toward the exit but he was stopped by Ricks hand on his shoulder.

"You need to rest. You're no use to us half-dead. We can get the bag." He ordered. There was lightness in his voice but he was concerned. Daryl wasn't going to settle here till they found Beth again, neither was his son, and the idea of a sick fuck with his hands over the sweet girl he could call his daughter made his skin crawl, but they needed to be smart. They needed to be on top of their game.

Daryl stopped and looked at him with tired eyes: he didn't have the energy to argue so he just took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. Rick smiled and patted him once on the back before quickly walking off.

"You should get your ribs seen to as well, might be broken." Michonne said as she passed. "You're favouring your left side…don't tell me it doesn't hurt." She smirked.

He watched her leave and cursed her half-heartedly in his head as he followed the others to the cafeteria, warm food calling his name. Rick was right. He needed to be sharp…Beth needed him sharp.

* * *

The next morning, the air was stale with the breath of the group as they woke up, their sweaty sleeping bags lay together in groups. Light streamed in through the high windows and warmed the dusty floor and yawns echoed around the room.

Daryl had been awake for a few minutes, his arm behind his head and his hand clenched as he tried desperately to forget the softness of her little hand in his. He could remember the strength in it, how solid she felt, how sure. He quickly sat up, his head swimming at the sudden movement and noticed Carls eyes across the room, open wide and watching.

He looked away quickly, he hadn't been able to save him either. Even fucking helped them track, led them halfway there. If Rick hadn't of done what he did…

Grabbing his crossbow from beside him, he stood and slung it over his shoulder. "Cummon kid, breakfasts waitin'."

* * *

All fed and tooled up, the group crowded around the three cars they'd been leant. Carl, Rick, Daryl and Maggie piled into the first car, Sasha, Bob, Eugene and Rosita in the next and Glenn, Michonne, Tara and Abraham in the last. A rumble echoed around the courtyard as their engines started and Rick rolled down his window.

"We'll be back when we can." He called to Gareth and the smattering of people watching them leave. Gareth nodded and waved cheerily as they passed him and out of the gates but Rick could see the doubt smeared all over his face. He didn't think they'd be coming back, they'd just left with three of their cars, shit loads of ammo and even more food, the majority of the people at Terminus thought he was crazy but, they'd elected him to lead, and as feral as Rick seemed when they'd first met, he found himself wanting to trust him.

Maggie sat in the front, Rick driving beside her as she directed him through the abandoned roads. She hadn't slept much the night before, her mind whirring through where her little sister could be, who could have her…what they were doing. Rick passed her the bottle of water and she took a sip, widening her eyes and willing the weariness from them. Carl's eyes tiredly followed the trees that flickered past and Daryl silently nibbled on a breakfast bar.

They stopped at the crossroads and Rick heaved himself out to sort the group into those waiting there and those moving on to scout out the town.

Daryl sat forward in his seat and saw Abraham, Eugene, Rosita, Glenn, Tara and Bob gathering around one car and Michonne and Sasha jumping into another and starting the engine. Glenn had wanted to press on, support his wife and find his sister-in-law but Rick trusted him to do whatever it took to stop anyone who came through, use any force necessary to question them about Beth, hurl himself at the black car with the cross if it came near.

It took a minute but Glenn nodded reluctantly and then organised the others, stationing them at the start of each of the roads, easily taking charge. Even Abraham and his ginger moustache followed his lead.

"Michonne and Sasha are following. We'll head to the town slowly. Keep an eye out for any structures in the woods, if we need to we've got time to check them out."

They drove a little while longer until they arrived on the main stretch, houses evenly spaced on both sides as it lead into town. Rick reduced the speed to a crawl as they all leaned out of their windows, watching for any walkers.

"Couple'a geeks in the house to th'left." Daryl murmured. The car stopped as they all turned to look. Two dusty corpses rattled together in an equally dusty living room.

"We'll leave the cars here, don't want to go too far in in case there's a herd and we get blocked in. Remember, we're looking for signs of habitation okay? Lack of dust, bedding, clothes, non-perishable food that kinda thing." Rick explained turning to the other three. "No guns." It didn't need to be said but they all nodded anyway. Daryl was the first out, Rick second as he walked over to the car behind them, telling Michonne and Sasha the plan. Maggie and Carl followed Daryl quietly as he approached the house, crossbow raised and feet silent.

"I've got these fuckers." Daryl murmured, motioning toward the two wandering around. "Noise'll might bring anymore out." Maggie and Carl stood back and watched as he aimed through the broken window, the first arrow sailing straight between the eyes of the rotting corpse. His equally dead friend reeled around at the movement and started toward the window, fresh meat wafting under his half rotted nose. "Cummon' you ugly bastard." As soon as he was in reach Daryl sunk his knife through its right eye, an ugly gouging sound squelching out of its head.

"Nice." Carl said sarcastically before banging his hand on the front door. "Let's see if there's anyone home."

The three of them waited, Daryl wiping the gunked up blade on his cargo pants and the other two watching Michonne, Sasha and Rick walk up to the house across the street. The whole place looked deserted. Weeds sprouted through cracks in the road, wind blew crusty autumn leaves around in circles, the grass in front of both houses had grown to knee height and all the front windows had been smashed. They'd probably already been looted but they'd come to look for more than just supplies and they weren't going to do this by halves.

"Can't hear anything." Maggie said after a few moments of silence. Daryl nodded and braced himself to kick the door through, all of them with knives up.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready." Maggie replied, Carl nodding beside her, his spare hand on his gun. Daryl faltered. Maggie's steeled eyes and strong stance reminded him of the other Greene as she'd tracked a walker. Maggie's strength was more obvious: she carried herself like someone used to this world; shaped by the walkers and people who survived them but it only made Daryl think of her sister's softness and the tough she only brought out when it was called for.

He turned back to the door and using all his force, booted it open.

**Remember, Beth's timeline is a week behind Daryl's group so in his sections she's been at the compound for a week already…or she could already be somewhere else…you never know ;) Basically Daryl's parts are present tense and Beth's are from a week ago…I'm confusing myself here. Sorry **

**In response to a guest reviewer called Piper: Beth will not be raped in this story. It'll be heavily alluded to concerning other characters but I just don't think I'd be able to write something so emotional traumatic. Also, her character is so inherently hopeful…I just can't imagine she'd ever get back to Daryl's Beth if she experienced something as horrific as that. **

**Reviews would be lovely x**


	5. Chapter 5

The two women worked well together, for the rest of the morning Megan simply issued her orders and Beth quietly did as she was told. If it was Ben, she would've huffed and puffed, furious with the delegation of tasks but this girl seemed immoveable. She didn't need rippling muscles and a weapon to prove her strength, it was in the way she stood and the way she spoke, like she knew she'd be listened to…so in turn she was. No arguments.

They'd chopped enough onions to feed an army and the soup was being cooked in vats as lunch time approached.

"You decided on any one of the meatheads yet?"

Beth started as Megan's voice broke a half hour silence that'd only been permeated by the intermittent scraping of metal on metal. She didn't have time to reply as the woman carried on, her eyes still on the pasta she was measuring for the evening meal.

"Pick a smart one, someone who'll realise how capable you can be, involve you in something other than cooking and laundry." She advised, crinkling her nose at the kitchen. "It's nice to keep you busy but if I wasn't allowed on the board I'd be going fucking nuts."

Beth cleared her throat and tried not to sound too interested as she replied. "The board?"

"Ten of us…basically run the place. I was only allowed in last month, Freenal insisted. It's been a year of blowjobs and steaks if you catch my drift." She winked at the young girl beside her and Beth tried not to make a face. "I know…some might call it crude but whatever. I'm not losing to this place and it's only worse out there." She breathed.

Beth swallowed. If she wasn't Kim, if she was with her family…with Daryl, she would have said something back. Would've slowly tried to lean Megan round to hope, would've harped on about there 'still being good people' but then she remembered where she was…who she was now, and stopped. Megan _had _made it in this place despite the amount of assholes and freaks milling around, she didn't need a lesson in inner strength…she'd taught herself.

Beth tried to come across as nonchalant and merely shrugged, peaking at the woman out of the side of her eye as they stood beside each other, keeping her hands busy with crushing coffee beans.

Megan turned to face her, munching on a stale piece of bread from the day before. "You seem strong enough." She commented. "You don't want one of the creeps that'll see you as a glorified sex doll. Maybe Ben, he's got a brain in there somewhere."

Not being able to hold eye contact, Beth looked back down to her hands. She knew if Megan looked hard enough she'd see the scared little girl, banging her fists and pleading to be let out.

"Right" Megan said suddenly, aggressively driving a knife into the chopping board in front of her. "Gotta get some fat on you girl…you're wasting away." She muttered, filling one bowl full of soup and another with four rolls of bread. "The cafeteria's not so fun for the newbies so I'll get Ben to take you back to your tent and you can eat there." Without waiting for a reply, Megan pushed the two bowls into Beth's hands and then walked over to the flaps, wiping her hands on her apron as she walked. "Get yourself showered as well cause you reek to high heavens. I know what you're doing with the whole 'staying dirty' thing but I'll make sure Freenal reminds those fucking Neanderthals to back off. BEN" She yelled "look alive. Take Kim to her tent and make sure she doesn't leave your sight."

Marching off before either of them could comment, Ben sighed from his seat on a log and shook his head. "Been sitting here for five hours…thank fuck I remembered a book." He mumbled like a moody teenager before quickly grabbing a bowl for himself and pushing at Beth's back to get her moving.

Beth's thoughts scrambled to catch up with what Megan had said as she followed Ben back to her tent. She'd seemed so strong and calm here, so settled and in charge, didn't seem to be held against her will and had her run of the place so there's no way she would ever help Beth's cause…but she insulted them, seemed to find the men completely distasteful and she couldn't help but like her. Megan was so nonchalant and unfazed in a world full of shit and destruction but not in a naïve, little girl lost way. She was striding her way around, flipping off assholes and sidling up to those with the power.

"Christ you need a shower." Ben said, his nose crinkling as she passed him to sit on the bench outside their tents.

"Thanks." Beth replied sarcastically as he sat down opposite her, already digging into his soup.

"Best to go in the morning, hot water runs out fast."

She nodded and shoved the bread into her mouth.

They sat in silence as Ben tried to figure out where he was going with this. He'd been uncomfortable with the whole 'pairing' thing since he'd joined the compound but there'd been nowhere else to go, and since he lost his brother…he'd been sick of being on his own. With the other girls, he'd simply looked the other way, blocked out their crying and the sight of them being shoved around terrified and trembling as the end of their first week drew closer, but this time it was different.

Freenal had sent him out to get Kim. He'd shoved him head first into reality and he'd been forced to realise what was going on. Look all this fucked up shit in the face and admit that to some extent, he was a part of it.

Kim was different too. It wouldn't take anyone long to realise he didn't have the heart to hit a girl but maybe she'd already seen through it? Maybe that was why she wasn't afraid to talk back and stick her chin out whenever he tried to tell her what to do.

He wasn't sure whether he liked it. He knew he'd be uncomfortable if she were scared of him.

"Didn't find your passion in cooking then?" He asked after finishing his soup. He tried not to be jealous of the extra rolls in her bowl as he watched her scoff them.

Rolling her eyes, she chewed a little quicker and swallowed to reply. "You love pissing people off don't you? Lemme guess…you were the youngest in your family? Always running around and poking people bigger than you with sticks." She wanted it to come out harsh and terse, a nasty dig at the big man who brought her here but she saw his face fall and hers went with it. Kim could be a bitch but Beth couldn't and it was Beth's heart that sunk as the man cleared his throat and grabbed some bread from her bowl.

He should've lashed out. Told her to mind her own business or had a sarcastic rebuttal but his family… it was too close to home, so instead he bit his tongue and kept his jaw busy by munching on some bread, ignoring the regret shining in the young girls eyes.

"I'm sorry." Beth said quietly, her gaze on the table between them. He kept eating but she heard his chewing slow as she carried on. "I was the youngest too." She started hesitantly, confused at herself and why she'd try and comfort him. "Always under my sisters feet, stealing her makeup and…" She drifted off as a man walked past their bench behind Ben, watching their discussion, his eyes beady and curious before he moved on.

He'd wanted her to carry on but the way her lips held tightly told him she'd already thought she'd revealed too much.

They sat in silence for a moment; Beth quietly revelling in a little shiver of sunshine peeking its way out from behind a cloud, the rush of shaking leaves fluttering through the tree above them.

The rest of the compound were all gathered at the cafeteria, the largest of the tents, and though she could hear their murmurs, they were far enough away for her to relax. She tried to ignore that one of them was sitting opposite her and took him for what he was - someone to share lunch with – tired of being wary of everyone.

"You make this?" He asked, waving about the roll in his hand, crumbs spluttering out of his mouth from the corners.

"Nope, Megan did yesterday."

"S'good."

She sighed and looked around her. "So…where else are you escorting me to today?"

He shrugged. "Freenal just said to keep an eye on you and I haven't been put in for a watch. Could take you to the rec room, grab a book or something?" He hadn't wanted it to be a question but she was the first normal girl he'd spoken to since all this shit went down. He found himself rummaging around, finding his old self hidden away behind dusty bars and locked doors. The more he spoke to her, the more words old Benji was given.

"Okay. Got a something with a hood round here? Looks like it's going to rain."

The clouds had drawn in, taking what little sun they had with it and she shivered a little in her thin jumper.

"We'll head to the supply room and grab something for you there. Probably be about eight sized too big…you being a midget and all."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes before standing. "Come on then, hurry up." Beth said shortly before walking off.

Ben scoffed and followed her, quickly shoving the last roll in his mouth.

She reminded him of his little cousin: a scrappy little thing, sprite of a girl, all elbows, knees and a sharp mouth.

They'd spent a couple of hours in the rec-room, trawling through battered books, rotting newspapers and board games with missing pieces. Apparently they just chucked things in there. Anything that looked like it could be used to educate 'the next generation' was stuffed into boxes and left, the rest of the group too busy with watches and supply runs to sort them out. Ben and Beth had sat around a large table in the deserted room and started to sort them, both of them grateful to have found something to pass the time. They were interrupted by a group of men swaggering in, their eyes on the projector and an action movie in the corner, popcorn overflowing from the big bowls in their arms. Ben looked like he wanted to stay, his eyes following the buttered popcorn as it passed between each of the oaths as they tried to figure out how the projector worked. But, when they notice Beth and patted the seat in between all of them, gesturing for her to join them, he stood and told her to follow as he stalked out, heading back to their tents.

The rest of the day passed slowly, her tired eyes skimming the pages of a trashy romance novel and Ben huffing as he sat opposite her in her tent, bored to the heavens with his latest choice of book. She was used to being silent these days and as darkness fell she jumped as he heaved himself up.

"I'll grab us some food…stay here." He said.

She didn't bother to look up from her book and it felt like no time had passed as he walked back into the tent, hands cupping two bowls filled with steaming chilli con carne.

Another hour of silence passed before Ben stood again. "I'm off to bed. Don't go to the showers without me alright? Freenal would kill me."

This time she knew she couldn't ignore him as he stood waiting for her to reply.

"Okay." She nodded, holding his stare until he looked satisfied with her answer and left.

Silence. It was weird how deafening it could be. She tried to stop her mind going back to the funeral parlour and the soft orange light falling on Daryl's face, the fear and tentativeness in his eyes as he held hers. He never seen him hold a gaze that long with anyone, he was too scared of what they'd see but he had let her right in, placed a welcome mat down when she'd hugged him and the flood gates had opened. He'd still been guarded, compared to him she was an open book but he had been trying…and then the line had jangled and his guard was back up. Everything sped up from a moment so slow, everything that had happened next went by in a blur as she saw him cornered and yelling at her to go.

Her feet had shuffled, her mind telling her she couldn't help, would probably just get in the way but some other part of her screaming at her to move. It had reminded her of watching her dad… She had felt hopeless.

Beth's eyes widened as she stared at the ceiling of her tent. What if he'd been bitten? All this time she'd bathed in the idea of him being safe, reuniting with the group so that when she escaped they'd all be together. She'd never stopped to think of the worst, she'd seen him running so she knew he hadn't been torn apart but what if they'd nipped him; tore a scratch down his back as he fought through them alone.

Reaching for her empty bowl she leaned over it, quietly heaving and emptying her stomach.

He wouldn't have allowed himself to change.

And he had been alone.

* * *

Beth didn't sleep well that night, constantly turning and squeezing her eyes shut, willing the image of a grey, sunken Daryl away. She could almost hear his footprints trudging into the forest; his eyes that'd looked right into her changed forever and made hollow.

She woke with a start each time she did manage to drift off until she gave up at the sound of bird song, abruptly sitting up in her camp bed.

Yeah she remembered what Ben had said but she couldn't face him right now… she need to wash away her grief in private so with the sun still hiding under the horizon and the sky a dusty grey, she grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and walked out into the fresh morning air.

Ben had pointed out the shower blocks yesterday: they were the only solid structures in the compound. He'd told her how they'd built around them and as the warmth trickled over her skin she imagined herself back in the prison and smiled. She pretended that she would change and simply walk back to her cell, hold Judith, smile at Maggie and nod over at Daryl. Her smile fell as his rotting face flashed behind her eyes and she opened them quickly to face the blue tarp in front of her, yanked down to an ugly reality.

Drying herself off as quickly as she could she pulled on the new pants (making sure to put the CD in her new pockets), shivered into a dark purple thermal sweater and stepped into woolly socks and slightly-too-big work boots. Watching the damp, brown mud beneath her feet she stepped back out, her towel resting over her shoulders and her hair dripping down her back as she started to walk back to her tent.

She was only a left turn and a right, six tents away from hers, when a large man burst out of the one she was passing and stood in her way.

"I saw you on your way, thought I'd catch you on the way back." He said, trying to sound upbeat and cheery but betraying himself with how rehearsed the words sounded. She glanced up at him, Beth secretly shaking but Kim rolling her eyes, her upper lip curled in disgust.

"Excuse me." She said shortly, her hands still in her pocket as she stepped to the left.

"Names Tyler." He said, stepping with her, his hands coming up to grip her arms.

Beth's eyes flashed and she tried to move backwards, her insides heating up with panic and her breathing quickening as he moved even closer.

He tried to move her again, directing her toward her tent and his mouth opening to say something else, the same arrogant belief in his eyes that she'd find his advances alluring.

_What's the point in havin' somethin' sharp if you ain't gon' use it on assholes like this sorry prick?_

She could almost hear Daryl's gruff voice gravelling through his chest and even though it made her stomach squeeze, she steeled herself and held the CD tighter in her fist.

Where she conjured the strength from she wasn't sure, it surged through her from somewhere else, rippling through her arms and growling through her teeth as she threw herself at the man, pushing him against the tent he'd just come out of. She guessed it was the surprise that threw him off, big man like him could have easily pushed her away but as she drew the CD from her pocket and held it against his neck he held his hands up and settled.

"Touch me again and I'll shove it through your windpipe." She threatened, her voice wavering and her hand shaking but her eyes holding his steadily. The man swallowed and felt the sharp edge of the CD cutting at his throat. He was pissed beyond belief but he wasn't stupid enough to try anything. She might look like butter wouldn't melt but the new girl was tougher than the other ones they'd brought in. She'd cleaned up so well he'd forgotten how rough she'd looked when she'd gotten here, how obvious it was that she'd be living on the road.

"Woah, what's going on here?" Beth's shoulders sank as she heard the familiar drawl of Freenal's voice from behind her. "Kim? Tyler?"

A moment passed, Tyler's breath loud and Beth's heartbeat ringing in her ears. Kim, that's who she had to be now, she had to pretend the rules seemed fair, that she followed under Freenal's gaze and respected his decisions. Slowly, she pulled her hand away. Tyler's wide eyes relaxed and he rubbed at his throat, checking it hadn't been cut.

He looked embarrassed, his cheeks reddened as she stepped back and he realised just how small she was. This Kim had gotten the jump on him. "Psycho bitch…I was just being friendly." He growled under his breath.

"Yeah…so was I." She replied simply.

Freenal shook his head as he stood between them. He had on a t-shirt, sneakers and a pair of shorts, his face gleaming with sweat and his breathing fast. Noticing Beth's stretched top, he sighed. "Tyler, you know how it goes round here…we're not animals. No one touches her, she makes her pick and that's that." His voice left no room for an argument and Tyler looked down, relaxing his stance. "She refuses to make a choice that's a different story." He continued.

She took her eyes off Tyler to face the leader.

"Hand it over."

She swallowed at the order, his face harder than she'd ever seen it and his hand outstretched before her. It definitely wasn't a request and she knew it'd be stupid to refuse but, all the same, her heart sank as she placed it in his hand.

"Not so tough now are ya?" Tyler chuckled as he noticed her face falling slightly.

_Don't let 'em scare you Beth, they'll cower like the shit-scared lil' boys they are soon enough._

"Just makes my skin crawl thinking of touching your dirty ass." Even she was shocked as the words hurled themselves fiercely out of her mouth and out to Tyler.

"Now now children, don't fight…you'll make Daddy mad. Off with you, get on with your chores. You, with me." Freenal demanded, pointing at Beth and stalking off towards the corner of the compound.

Throwing one more withering glare at Tyler she dutifully followed, trying not to drag her feet. The camp had started to hum with morning greetings. Sleepy eyed men milling around with cups of coffee all diverted their eyes from her sulking figure as they spotted Freenal, nodding in his direction as they passed.

"You're lucky Meg likes you ya know, in my opinion you're more trouble than you're worth." He chuckled, sending her a sideways glance as he strode along, silently nodding at the men they passed on the way. "Says you're a tough'un. Not many of them left apparently and she doesn't get along with the simpering ones."

Beth didn't know what to say so she just kept her head down as they approached another tent, a piece of wood affixed to the front with the name Freenal inscribed.

"Come in for a drink, we need to catch up." He said warmly, his eyes still as steely as they always were and the smile a little forced. Walking into it she realised how much bigger it was than the other sleeping quarters. It had its own dining room sectioned off and a large sofa. It also had a Megan curled up in an armchair, a book in her hands. "We were just talking about you." Freenal declared, his smile back in full force as he leaned down and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Good things I hope." She simpered. Her eyes looked wider when he approached, more innocent as he looked at her, she didn't look like the same girl who'd nonchalantly fiddled with a knife a day ago.

"Your poor taste mostly; this prize girl of yours is causing quite the stir."

"A woman after my own heart." She laughed, her eyes wandering down to Beth and her slightly dishevelled appearance. "What happened?"

"This one had Tyler against a tent with half a CD at his throat." Freenal replied, throwing the shard at Megan, his voice slightly amused. "Where'd you get it?" He asked, turning back to Beth who was still standing awkwardly in the door way as Megan smiled, turning it over in her hands.

She cleared her throat. Megan seemed impressed and she struggled over what to say. She hadn't used it on anyone else, she'd been here for two days and not once had she threatened anyone or even drawn blood on the asshole she did press it against. Maybe they'd just respect her nerve?

"The car that Ben bought me here in, it was down the side of the door." She murmured, her wet hair brushing against her finger tips which were grasping each other behind her back.

The two of them were silent for a moment. She jumped as Freenal scoffed and looked at him quickly, breathing out as she saw the amusement in his eyes.

"Smart." He said simply, nodding.

"Told ya." Megan said, standing up and moving to sit beside him on the sofa, motioning for Beth to take the armchair.

"Ben: not so much."

Her heart squeezed at the coolness in Freenals voice, an anger barely contained as he spat out the words. She shouldn't care…she should welcome the idea of harm coming to anyone in this camp but she couldn't help it. Ben was the only one here she could believe didn't want to be a part of it; she'd seen the uncomfortable reluctance to associate himself with the other creeps and the idea of him being cut down by the cold, stretch of man in front of her made her shiver.

Both the woman ignored his remark, knowing better than to take it as a joke.

"Think she'd be better used away from the kitchen?" Megan asked, sidling up to him after a few moments of silence, her hand coming to subtly rest on his thigh as she sipped out of her mug.

You'd think it'd be horrifically obvious, the way she slowly wound him around her finger but either he chose to look the other way or men really could be that oblivious, spiting their intelligence for a smart, good looking woman.

His eyes roamed up and down Beth's lean body as she sat rigidly up right on the faded dark blue armchair, her eyes flickering around trying to land on anything but him.

"Could be. Only been here a few days though and I don't trust her as far as I could throw her."

"She had the CD on her just as long and she's smart enough to know she's safest here…knows she won't ever find that guy she was with in the parlour…knows he's probably dead by now, or worse." Megan said, answering Freenal but her eyes fixed on Beth.

She wasn't doing it to be mean, she was trying to give her a chance to flourish here, to let go of unlikely reunions and make the most of what was here but it didn't stop Beth holding her breath when they mentioned Daryl. He was the one thing at the back of mind that kept her mowing through all these fuckers and if she let the idea of him being dead seep in and take hold of her any more than it already had, she didn't think she'd ever conjure up the metal to escape.

Freenal sat back and regarded Beth once more, stroking his chin. "What're you thinking?" He asked Megan.

She took a deep breath and also turned to look at Beth.

"Errr, I don't know…maybe chuck her on watch with Ben sometime or…what about a run?"

"On watch he'd end up watching her more than the fucking perimeter." He scoffed.

"Well runs are pretty straight-forward these days right? Even you said you need a little more action now we're pretty much set up here. Chuck her in in the deep end and see if she swims."

They were interrupted suddenly by a loud, fast voice.

"Freenal. Kim's gone...K-." Ben, panicked and sweating, burst through the flap of the tent.

Beth shrunk back a little at the frustrated annoyance that seemed to radiate out of his eyes as he saw her perched on the edge of the armchair.

Freenal eyes turned, regarding the panting boy in front of him.

"What did I say to you Ben?" His voice was a cold as his stare. It didn't quiver or halt as he spoke and the surrounding silence felt heavy as they all waited for Ben's reply.

Bens expression had changed; long gone was the disappointed frustration, replaced by a weary hesitancy and worry. He was tall and filled more of the tent, his arms stronger and steady but Freenal carried his own strength in the rippling anger in his voice and Beth knew without doubt which scared her most.

"Uh..to watch Kim. To watch Kim." Ben replied. His jaw clenching and unclenching nervously.

"And you didn't." He said simply.

Ben's eyes flashed angrily over to Beth. "I asked her to wait till daybreak before taking a shower…said I'd go with her."

As soon as the men broke eye contact the tension dissipated. Ben sounded more like an annoyed brother than an incompetent soldier and Freenal sighed and hung his head, choosing to let it go for now.

"Well I guess you'll just have to be bunk buddies from now on then." He announced, glancing between the two and hoping for a reaction.

Beth and Ben held each others eyes for a moment; it was obvious neither were happy about the new arrangement: Beth would have no time for herself, no space to stretch out and day dream about her family and Ben would be a babysitter all day round, but they knew they couldn't argue. Freenal was waiting for a reason to punish either of them and they wouldn't give it to them so instead they both looked away, silently giving in.

Freenal smiled before clearing his throat and patting Megan's knee. "Megan was suggesting she go on a run." He said, gesturing at Beth.

Ben frowned but Megan chipped in before he could say anything.

"She took care of that slimy twat Tyler on the way over…reckon she could knock off a few biters for you lot."

With the mention of Tyler, Ben looked over at Beth, silently asking what had happened but she shook her head slightly, an 'I'll tell you later' in her eyes. He went back to appraising Megan's idea, hesitant and doubtful of Beth's tenacity.

"Well…what if she kicks up a fuss, tries to run off? She could just end up a distraction."

Having enough of being talked of in third person, Beth interrupted. "You lot couldn't handle a little girl and a few biters? Even if I wanted to run, where would I go? There's food and shelter here…I'm not stupid."

She was surprised at the cool, quiet collectiveness in her voice and even more so at the silent acceptance she finally weaned out of Ben. A run. She could be going on a run, able to scout out her surroundings and maybe – if the right chance presented itself- even break away from the group. She'd have to make it count though: one strike and she was out. It had to be perfect.

"She's right." Freenal added slowly, as if only just coming round to the idea.

"We could give her a knife…or a broken CD" Megan winked "and what's that compared to your handgun?" She teased, smirking at Ben. "Don't think you can handle her?"

His tan cheeks flushed but his eyes turned challenging. "Of course I can. She's weaker than a duckling in the morning."

Beth frowned, thrown off by the weird comparison as Megan started to laugh and even Freenal cracked a seemingly genuine grin. She tried to keep a straight face but weirdly felt the side of her lip turn up.

"Sorted. You'll take her with you lot the day after tomorrow."

Beth tried to sit still; really she wanted to split her face in two with a smile the size of Texas and run around the camp singing at the top of her voice, but instead, she played it cool and nodded quietly from the corner of the tent as Freenal changed the subject and brought out a pack of cards.

"Who's up for poker?"

* * *

After a few glasses of wine and a couple of rounds, Beth found herself relaxing. She knew it was the middle of the day, that she should keep her guard up, fists up near her chin and an eye on all three of them but she was tired of being stony and cold.

Daryl would be able to hold himself back though, wouldn't even crack a smile or even a word if he were in the same position.

He'd be disappointed in her.

Ben took another glug of whiskey and Freenal threw back his beer as Megan giggled past her glass of wine and Beth sat back, her good mood falling as she imagined the stoic, guarded man himself sat in the empty seat beside her. Maybe she'd never sit next to him again. He could be lost now, a body dazed and hungry like all the rest. The good person she knew gone, brushed away somewhere she'd never find him.

"I'm tired." She said simply with a soft smile, not wanting to offend any of them. Ben quickly stood, downing the rest of his glass and grabbing his jacket from the back of his seat.

"Come on then."

She stood obliging, just wanting to be somewhere quieter. Freenal nodded at the both of them and Megan sending them a quiet 'laters' as she moved a little closer to her husband, her hand travelling up his thigh. Beth tried not to cringe and simply turned away, following Ben out of the tent.

They paused as Freenal cleared his throat behind them and a chill rippled its way down Beth's spine at his short, icy words.

"If you lose her, it's all on you Ben."

She saw Ben's shoulders tense in front of her. She heard his breath soar out of his mouth, saw him nod tersely and as he carried on walking out into the soft, breezy sunlight she followed him, her little hands curled into fists, wiling herself to face this as Daryl would.

Ben was a stepping stone to an escape and if her escape meant his death…she would make herself accept it.

**Sorry about the lack of Daryl in this chapter: I've got a lot of ideas going round my head about this compound that I want to get down before she escapes so that when they meet again which (spoiler alert) they will, there's a real threat solidified and not some nameless baddy if you get what I mean?**

**Does mean my chapters will be a bit longer and have more in them cause I want to get to a reunion just as much as you guys do My plan is it to be in chapter 7 and the wait will be worth it I promise! **

**Please review, they really spur me on and thank you so much to everyone who has, you guys rock.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews, they really do speed me up when I'm typing. You guys rock. Hope you like it!**

The rest of the day had been spent in a weird daze. Beth's eyes had flickered aimlessly over pages in a different book she'd saved from the rec room. The lines had blurred into one moving mass that she couldn't focus on and her mind had wandered hours back. As soon as Ben had started snoring in the armchair beside her, she'd totally given up pretending to read and ended up wondering about things that she knew would only upset her.

She'd sat there for going on four hours thinking back to the prison, re-living every moment and wishing to feel Judith's little fingers curled around one of hers, and as much as she hated the funeral parlour and all that it had done, she'd give anything to be back there now. Daryl's face when she'd turned to find him sleeping in that coffin would never leave her: he'd looked so young, so unjaded and calm and she'd found herself hoping he could look like that all the time, wondering how she could help make that happen and then blushing so hard her cheeks felt like they were flaming.

Ben had silently gone to get her dinner, noticing her tear stained cheeks when he'd woken up, knowing she needed time to compose herself and when he'd returned she'd scrubbed them away and straightened her back, her ice cold expression smeared on.

Neither of them had said a word to each other for the rest of the day, tired from the taxing morning of careful treading and fake smiles and before the sun had even set, Ben's camp bed was moved to the other side of Beth's tent and both of them were asleep.

* * *

They worked quickly; both groups scouting each of the houses one by one for a sign of someone staying there, until they reached the high street. They'd come across four other walkers, every one as mouldy as the other, and knocked them down quickly, not even breaking their stride.

"Carl. Sasha. You two head back to the others the crossroads and bring them here." Rick pointed to the only house on the street that had been boarded up. "Set up, get someone on watch. Daryl, Michonne, Maggie we'll head on toward the town and have a scout."

They all nodded at his orders, Carl a little reluctant as he and Sasha jumped into the car they'd packed with any useful stuff they'd found. Rick waited until the noise of the engine disappeared down the road and around the corner before facing the other three.

"Got five, six hours a'sunlight left." Daryl said. "Should head back 'n join em before it runs out, so we'll aim t'be done by five."

"Are we taking the car?" Michonne asked.

"Nah, we're quieter on foot and s'not too far."

"We don't want to give anyone the chance to hide from us and you know we'd be wary of an engine." Rick said. "There's a path behind the back gardens of the houses on the left, we'll stick near the trees and listen out for anyone." They all murmured in agreement and silently fell in to place, single file down the side of the house closest and onto the path.

Shaded by slowly branches and a soft rustling of their leaves following them on the way, they quietly made their way down the overgrown path.

Daryl lead the way, his crossbow up and his arms tensed, always ready for something to threaten them. He wasn't going to let his guard down again…nothin' was going to distract him like she had anyway: no one had ever come close. She'd looked so calm, so fucking wide eyed and trusting and he needed her to know, she needed to know that not anyone could have yanked him out of that sulking hunk of shit he'd been for the first few weeks. If he'd ended up stranded with anyone else they'd probably just let him wallow in his own hole of fuckin' self-pity, wouldn't have had the balls to call him out on shit, not like she had.

She hadn't stood around and ignored his 'everything's gone to shit and everyone is a shit' act. Would've made it a damn sight easier if she had though, then maybe he wouldn't feel like his stomach had been yanked out and fuckin' stamped on whenever he thought about that bashed up shit of a car.

He clenched his jaw and hoisted the bow up higher.

Maggie followed behind footstep to footstep, dodging low hanging branches and swiping loose strands of hair from her face. She'd only just found Glenn again so she couldn't help but ache without him there but she understood why he'd had to stay: as much as she trusted the others, no one would be able to stop him if he had even an inkling that Beth was close.

Rick's boots strode confidently behind her. His head twisting around and watching their sides and his eyes flickering over to anything that moved.

There'd been no debating when he'd decided they'd be searching as a group, a few wary glances from the new lot but no one dared raise their voice against his plan when they saw Carl's determined face and heard Michonnes steady assent.

He'd seen how important it was to the others, to Maggie, Glenn and Daryl and it reminded him of how much Beth meant to him too. She'd been there for his little girl from her first cry and even though it pained him to think of that glorious stretch of time he had with that bundle of doe eyes and perfectly chubby cheeks, he did. He did so that he'd remember why he was forcing them out of Terminus and a place he could imagine they'd all grow old in, he was doing it for that blonde, hopeful young girl and the look on Daryl's face when he'd told her she was gone.

The group were backed up by Michonne and her katana. It dragged through the undergrowth beside her and her hands curled around it securely, daring anyone to try and get close to the people in front of her. She never thought she'd end up with a family again and here she was, wading through a small town to track one of them down.

They'd never really spoken much, her and Beth, but she remembered that small moment of grief Beth had allowed her with Judith. At that point she was still the sword wielding wild woman with frightened eyes and trust issues but Beth hadn't been scared of her, all but forced that tangle of soft pink skin and delicate fingers in her arms. She knew Beth had seen her cry: had seen her out the corner of her eye and heard her small steps but the girl had known to leave her. She hadn't consoled her or patted her on the back because she knew it wouldn't help.

That girl was wise beyond her years, even if no one else saw it, and if anyone could stride through a kidnapping and out the other side in a walker infested world…it was her.

The sun hung a little lower in the clouded sky when they finally reached the end of the seemingly endless back gardens and approached a parking lot. Daryl held a hand up and silently motioned toward five walkers, all crouched over what looked like the remains of a cat. One for each of them and an extra for whoever was feeling most pissed off.

A few bashed up cars littered the expanse of space and when Daryl saw Rick nod his head, they all slowly walked forward, bent over and trying not to alert the biters attention. When all four of them were steadily crouched behind the car closest to them Daryl held his finger up.

One moment passed as he checked that there weren't any more hiding their rotten bodies somewhere and then he brought his finger down, hoisted up his crossbow and stood.

One by one they followed.

Daryl's arrow pierced the head of the closest before the rest of the soggy fuckers knew what had happened. The one beside it turned, its mouth hanging open, half its jaw brown and drooling through the fresh guts squashed between its teeth. Maggie dodged forward and planted her knife in its head, the blade passing through bone swiftly under its mouldy skin. Daryl yanked out his bolt from the first as the other threes head's twisted round, following the sound of their hurried footsteps and quiet grunts.

Her katana flew before Rick could even catch up and two half skulls littered the floor beside her as she flicked the blood off it.

The four of them stood beside each other for a moment, silently watching as the fifth and final walker stood. Its broken leg dragged behind it, cracking with his weight. Half of the skin on its head had been peeled off and hung over its ear, the brown wiry hair folding in on itself as it groaned, slowly sloping toward them.

If they stood back and thought, they'd realise how weird it was, their absolute indifference to the thing which sluggishly made their way toward them, but that's what this world made. You couldn't care about these disgusting cannibals and survive.

"Ugly fucker" Daryl murmured.

The rest of them watched as he took a step forward and nailed him between the eyes with the blot in his hands. He could have reloaded but he didn't want to pull a trigger, he wanted to shove something angrily through bone and watch it fall in front of him, he wanted to imagine it was that fucker in the car. He watched for a moment as the blackish, brown blood seeped from the thing sprawled out in front of him before loading the bolt in his crossbow and turning to face the others.

They'd been watching him, waiting patiently for him to calm before they decided their next move and as all their breathing started to slow, Rick pointed at a small convenience store peeking out from around a corner.

"That place there is all boarded up, could be a hide out. Michonne, Maggie, you take places on either side of the entrance. Daryl, you and I will go round see if there's a back exit and-"

He stopped abruptly and all their heads snapped in the same direction as they heard a roar.

"HELP. SOMEONE PLEASE. HELP ME."

* * *

She didn't feel safe, didn't think she ever could in this place, especially not after Tyler but least with Ben she had someone to half-hide behind and whether he did it on purpose or not, he always seemed to be placed between her and whoever they ran into.

The blonde jerk from the entrance bumped into them and leered openly until Ben gently reminded him of Freenal's orders and then he skulked off, muttering something about _wasted time_ and _pretty boys._

They walked around the inside of the large fashioned steel wall, following the well-trodden path each man on watch had made. She peeked through each of the firing and observation holes and averted her eyes whenever they walked past each of the men dotted along it.

He pointed out a group of larger tents arranged in a circle as they moved further in, complete with little front gardens decked out with chairs and tables and quaint little plants.

"They're for the royals…we should probably bow as we pass or something." Ben muttered sarcastically.

"The board right?" Beth asked, kicking along a stone as they passed.

She missed his surprised eyes before he replied. "Yeah. They're all at a meeting. Something to do with a big group nearby."

Beth halted and looked up at him.

Her stomach dropped to her toes and her fingers shook at her sides.

What if they'd regrouped? Found Daryl and a place to stay and were waiting for her to join them? She couldn't hold herself back from a jolt of fear as she imagined her big sister and Glenn, maybe even Carl up against such a well-stocked group.

He knew he shouldn't have said it as soon as it came out, Freenal would kill him if he heard him divulge group tactics to the newbie but he'd forgotten where he was. The dude who took her said she was only with one other guy so he was sure she couldn't have come from this Terminus place but her eyes were terrified and he felt his mouth moving without being able to stop it.

"Place called Terminus. They've been set up there since it all went down and not posed a threat, but now they're growing and Freenal's getting tetchy."

He breathed out and his heart raced. If anyone heard that he'd be over.

They'd stopped and were facing each other, Ben a foot taller but feeling small as her expression swum through hope, fear, and excitement and stopped at some kind of shade of greenish pink.

Beth's breathing was quick. She could tell by the way he shut his mouth quickly after his outburst that there was no way he should have said that much. What if she had known of Terminus and escaped on their run tomorrow? She'd had valuable information to bargain with and an in-depth knowledge of the layout of the compound. It was a long-shot but it could happen and what if the others had found their way there and they were the new recruits? It physically hurt her hoping that much because she knew it was something little Beth would do. She was trying to protect herself, be strong and get herself safe and free, she didn't need a far-fetched idea of her family close by. It'd make her irrational and emotional.

It took her a while to get to that point in her head and Ben watched her the whole time, his head wandering into 'shit, I fucked up' territory and back three hundred times.

"I-I…fuck." Ben started.

She shook her head and waved her hands around randomly at her sides. "It's nothing. Never heard of the place." She was trying to sound cool as she started to walk slowly and he tried to ignore the waver in her voice as he followed.

They didn't say anything else as she retraced their steps back to her tent, both of them silently deciding the tour was over.

"I'm just going to relax…might take a nap." She said quietly, attempting a small smile and failing completely.

He knew it was irresponsible to leave her alone…he'd just let her know about another group nearby taking people in. She could think the guys she was travelling with was there and God knows she hated this place enough, but he didn't have the guts to follow her as she walked into the tent, the plastic flapping back into place behind her. Dragging his hand over his face he sighed heavily…shit. Plopping himself down on the bench he tried not to listen out for her movements.

* * *

_"HELP. SOMEONE PLEASE. HELP ME."_

It bounced off the concrete and sounded so close. The four of them looked at each other, Maggie wide eyed and Daryl and Michonne already with hands on their weapons, facing the where the noise was coming from.

The main street stretched down the side of the parking lot and the screaming seemed to be coming from the left but it wasn't Beth. It was one man, there was no one yelling along beside him and they weren't going to risk themselves for someone they didn't know, especially someone this stupid. If he was already surrounded, shouting would only bring more on.

Rick looked around and they all quickly followed Daryl as he crossed across the lot and stood on the corner, his crossbow up and ready to hit anything rounding it.

"Wanna see what all the fuss is about." Daryl muttered at Rick's questioning look.

"Quick alright, don't let them spot you." Rick replied.

Daryl nodded and then stood, taking a moment to brace himself against the brick.

In one smooth movement he turned the corner and brought the bow up.

He tried to count the walkers but there were too many of them as they swarmed. The moans nearly overwhelmed the man as he stood on top of the only car on the street and Daryl frowned as he saw more milling toward the idiot.

He was about to move back, shake his head at Rick and tell them to wait until the walkers got what they wanted and then shuffled off, but he stopped in his tracks.

His bow went down and he blinked.

It was a black car. It was a black car with a white cross in the rear window with a tail light smashed through.

* * *

The sun was sinking down when she re-emerged, a pillow mark on her cheek and her eyes puffy.

"Mind me coming with you to get the food? I need to stretch my legs." She explained, clicking her neck and trying to sound casual. The air was stiff with awkwardness; the knowledge that he'd inadvertently put himself in Freenal's line of fire to reassure her laying heavily on her mind and the jolt in his stomach at how much Kim's sleepy voice sounded like Sophie - his cousins - after a lunchtime nap.

He nodded and stood.

"Come on then."

Cool air nipped at the tips of her fingers and the gravel beneath her feet crunched as they walked toward the kitchen. The camp quieter than she'd ever heard it as the rest of the men gathered in the cafeteria. She tried to imagine them gone, eradicated from the earth, simply dust on the breeze and her family taking their place. Her family safe and secure with big tall walls and running water, a space for them to cook and sleep. The big green stretch of grass in the middle for blankets and a six year old Judith running around, a BBQ set up in the corner and Daryl quietly minding the meat, his eyes darting round but his stance relaxed. The corner of her mouth twitched up into a miniature smile as her eyes, unfocused, settled on the empty chair beside it. That was where she would sit, an eye on him, never letting him out of her sight, thanking every star they sat under that he hadn't been bitten and hadn't been alone.

"Shit that smells good." Ben said appreciatively beside her.

Boiled rice and freshly baked bread drifted under her nose and her mouth watered as she realised how truly hungry she was.

They dodged into the kitchen, grabbed themselves the biggest bowls they could find and helped themselves to huge portions, Ben all the while reasoning that they need to fuel up for tomorrow's run.

The food steamed into the early night air as they wandered back, occasionally taking a spoonful, neither of them speaking.

They were halfway back when a rustle had Beth turning to her left. A wirey haired woman had slowly inched her way out of her tent to grab a tatty book from the bench outside it but had stopped in her steps when she had noticed them.

The women's eyes held each other's for what felt like minutes, both not knowing how to react to the other; whether to call out or reassure each other, whether to hug or scamper away.

Beth's eyes wandered over the woman, noticing the bruises that blemished her face and the scratched on her legs that were only adorned in the shortest shorts, the woman marvelling at the fading bruise on Beth's forehead and the lack of any other mark on her.

"Carla." Ben greeted softly from beside Beth. The woman nodded in reply, looking between the pair as if she were trying to work them out, determine whether Beth was like her or like Megan; someone so strong it scared her.

Beth wanted to open her mouth and have reassurance spill out, soft words to comfort the woman and make her smile but she couldn't: her words were stuck behind the knowledge that if she could escape she wouldn't be able to take her with her, she have to leave Carla behind. Leave her with men that lay hands on her and turned her pale skin purple with violence.

The woman noticed Beth's eyes hardening, knew that eventually the little girl would look down at the floor and move on with her food and she didn't blame her. She had succumbed to this place long ago. She'd scratched so hard in those first few weeks, kicked with all she was worth and screamed into the night until her throat was raw and tears blurred her eyes but now she had nothing left. Carla had no one to run to, no one there with open arms and a soft kiss to brush away the pain. All she was was an empty shell, waiting for oblivion. She dropped her gaze and walked back inside, her steps measured and stiff.

Beth would regret it for the rest of her life, but with a clenched jaw she turned away from the tent that held the woman with the lost eyes.

She turned away from what she could become, scared to look to long.

* * *

_His bow went down and he blinked. _

_It was a black car. It was a black car with a white cross in the rear window with a tail light smashed through. _

Before he knew what he was doing his lips were curled in a snarl.

His bow was back up and he was striding forward.

His eyes stuck on the man, only flicking away when a walker got too close and those that did were met with a bolt or a knife. Crunching, squelching, cracking and the ends of moans following him. Bodies littering the street.

Rick's nerves stretched as he waited, his fingers tapping on his revolver. Maggie's breath hardened as the seconds lengthened. They waited with baited breath until Michonne drew out her katana.

"He's walking, I can hear it." She said, quickly. Confusion etched its way across all of their faces. Daryl was the most practical of them all. He wouldn't risk their group for loud walker bait.

It didn't take long for Rick to turn the corner behind him. Not one of them would ever be able to argue a point about leaving Daryl to the walkers, they'd all come too far for that.

Maggie and Michonne followed, eyes wide and searching around them. Both faltered a little when they saw the swarming group of walkers but their pace picked up as they quickly followed Rick who'd spotted the cross and was striding forward to join Daryl.

Michonne quickly counted the declining number as they walked towards it: from twenty four to twenty two and further down to seventeen as blasts rang out. They'd be more to replace them soon enough with the noise they were making, but with Daryl at the head of their group, relentlessly ending walkers with brutish, quick motions from his two knives, her breathing settled as she walked off to the left to slice down an incoming pair.

Daryl's feet and bloodied arms had come to the car, only six more walkers scratching at the metal of the right side of the car, their arms flailing around and trying to reach the man's feet. He noticed a bandana pulled down from the man's mouth and tried not to think about how easily such a tall, thick set man could grab Beth as he gritted his teeth and sunk his knives into the skulls of the two closest walkers.

He heard Rick yelling behind him, his voice deep and loud as he directed the question at the stranger. "This your car?"

It would be too much of a coincidence for it not to be but he knew he had to ask.

The man's brow furrowed and a comical look of confusion washed over his face. The rest of his body was still quivering in panic as he turned over the question in his head, wondering if they'd simply slain all the biters just to take his car.

"W-what?" He stammered, slightly ashamed of what he'd been reduced to. His ammo had slid down the bonnet and beside the rotting feet of one of these dead shits and he'd been made helpless.

Daryl's jaw clenched, and with the remanding stiffs focused on the huge bag of bait shuffling around on the roof, he finished them off; picking them off one by one from behind, up and through their sodden, squelching skulls.

"This your fuckin' car?" Daryl growled.

Michonne and Maggie were hanging back, keeping a few stranglers at bay, their heads jerking back now and again to watch what was going on, Maggie's eyes desperately curious.

"I-I…yeah it is…why? What are you…" His voice stumbled over his words as he tried to make sense of everything, looking down and around him at the dozens of bodies and the unforgiving faces of the men before him.

He noticed the two women and at the expert way they cut through the remaining walkers, staring a little too long.

"Eyes down here you son of'a bitch." Daryl barked.

The man obeyed quickly and Daryl's fingers itched at this sides, dying to rain his fists down on the prick. "Where'd you take her? Where'd you take Beth?"

Realisation flooded the man's face when he recognised the name. Beth. He knew the red-necks voice too, heard the girls name being hollered for miles as the stubborn hill billy had sprinted after them down pot-hole laden roads.

He swallowed loudly, lifting his hands up. "It wasn't anything personal…" He started but he didn't get to finish.

As soon as Daryl had noticed his eyes widen, as soon as the pieces had clicked into place in that man's tiny little brain, Daryl's crossbow was reloaded and back up.

The man's hands were raised and he sub-consciously took a step back.

"No." Rick yelled desperately as the man lost his footing.

It seemed to take a while for the lumbering body to catch up with its flailing feet, slipping on the hot metal and dancing off the edge of the car. His face was panicked and his mouth wide as he slowly fell backward just in-front of a waiting walker from the other side of the car.

Daryl quickly let his bolt fly, catching the walker and stopping it dead. It slumped to its side, joining the other man whose heavy body bounced off the tarmac, his head viciously swinging around and smacking into the hard ground.

He tried to pretend he hadn't heard it; hadn't heard the crack of the man's skull as it hit the floor.

"Fuck" He growled.

Daryl grabbed onto the car as he ran around it, trying to propel himself forward and cursing the car for getting in the way.

He saw Rick out of the corner of his eye checking on Michonne and Maggie before following him a little slower, already knowing what had happened.

Daryl didn't slow down as he saw the man sprawled out on the floor, just threw himself closer until he was hovering over the man's face. His eyes were clouding over and blood was pooling under his head, his breath haltered and slowing.

"Where is she?" Daryl asked, his voice desperate and almost pleading as he took the man's shoulders roughly in his large hands and shook. He could see his focus waning and a gurgle spewed forth from his mouth that was foaming at the edges.

He looked as if was about to reply, say a word that'd give them a starting point but this world is not like the movies; they don't get clues and pathways to their loved ones. There's no easy way to Beth and as the man's eyes unfocused and drifted toward the sky, the pool grew and Daryl shook him again desperately.

"WHERE'D YOU TAKE HER?" He yelled, his spit landing on his face. He knew he was gone, could see his chest had stopped moving and the lines soften on his face, but he found himself shaking him again and again.

He'd pinned the hope Beth had managed to give him on this car. The only hope he'd ever allowed himself to have on finding this hunk of shit and the man behind its wheel and then finding her. His fingers curled viciously into the dead man's skin until he could feel blood under his nails and then he shook him again, a breathy grunt squeezing its way out of his throat.

"Daryl stop."

Maggie's voice sounded so much like hers that for a moment he let himself believe it was. He let himself imagine the little blonde thing gently walking up to him and firmly telling him to pull his head out of his ass and keep going, telling him to hope for more and that this didn't mean the end. She'd grab his arm and try and drag him up before he gave in and stood on his own and then she'd wait; her blue eyes stubborn on his face until he met them and gave her a nod.

He didn't want to look back at her. He couldn't turn around and see the other Greene sister. He hated that he felt angry, angry that she was with them and not Beth, so when she reached out, eyes wary and brow furrowed, and her fingers slightly grazed his back, he shrugged them off.

Maggie took a step backward.

Michonne stood apart from the group, watching the street and listening for groans, her head swimming with anger and waiting to meet with a walker to let it out.

Rick and Maggie's eyes met, searching in each other for what to do next. They had no more leads. The car was the start and the end of this. They could search this town high and low and go onto the next but now they were just a search party. Daryl's tracking was redundant and their hope would waver and slow the longer they went without finding a trace. She was one girl in a world full of walkers.

They looked away. Quiet fell on the street that was splattered with bodies. Daryl's exhausted heavy breaths slowly calming until he stood.

Rick regarded him cautiously.

"We'll search the car." He murmured finally, still unable to meet any of their eyes.

Rick nodded and leant down to start heaving the bodies from where they'd piled up at the doors.

They searched every inch of that car, every foot well, under every seat. Daryl yanked around everything that could end with a secret compartment and kicked up every piece of carpet.

Maggie all but climbed in the trunk with her flash light, slowly and meticulously studying every piece of fabric until her eyes fell on a golden strand of hair.

She could feel her heart beat in her mouth and tears choking her as she gently pulled it out, placing it in the palm of her hand with as much softness her clammy hands could muster.

"Guys." Maggie said quietly, her voice faltering and hitching.

It hadn't seemed real before. It was a story told by a friend, a bad dream that she couldn't bear to let herself believe: her little sister, the lightest most hopeful, shining girl taken by someone harsh…hope and softness robbed by a stranger.

She swallowed and her eyes shone as Rick turned and Michonne wandered over, as Daryl cautiously folded himself out of the car and guarded his eyes from the sun.

The breeze lifted it in all its length and twisted around Maggie's fingers. She clenched her stomach and bit her tongue, her hand shaking slightly.

"It's hers."

* * *

"Everyone tooled up?" Freenal asked, his loud voice carrying over the heads of the six gathered men and Beth.

They murmured their assents, Ben beside her holding onto his machete in one hand and a hand gun tucked in the back of his waistband. A large, potbellied bald man with pink, shiny skin stood beside him.

The sun bore down harshly on all of them, bouncing off the metal walls and plastic tents as they stood before Freenal, different heights and intelligence standing side by side. A mish mash of men with the place they chose to stay safe the only thing in common….and the leering way their eyes followed Beth's rigid movements.

A few had murmured in confusion and traded doubtful looks when Freenal had said she'd be joining them but they shut up quick as a flash when he told them he'd been joining as well: ranted on a little about men who couldn't handle a little girl and then finished with a satisfied smirk when they all lowered their heads ashamedly.

"We'll take two cars and head toward the mall we spotted the other day. If it's too over run we head back but I say we charge in hard and clear this place out …this mall is ours and we're not having some other fuckers duck in and take it from under our noses, alright?"

Beth swallowed at the mention of another group. She knew he must be talking about Terminus but he skipped over specifics in her presence, merely looking at the others pointedly. Ben shuffled uncomfortably beside her, his cheeks flushing slightly.

"Okay, let's do this." Freenal said his voice booming and assertive. "Tyler, any dead out there?"

The creepy bastard from a few days back peeked through a look out station to their right for a few moments before turning back. "Three of em' lumbering around twenty feet away, want me to get them?" He asked, his hand reaching over to his shot gun.

Freenal stood silent for a moment and then slowly turned to face Ben and Beth, a smile creeping across his face as he regarded the both of them before gesturing toward the doors.

"After you" A comedic semi bow followed his words.

She should have been scared, she'd never faced more than one at a time and now there were three but she dug out all the bravery and fight she knew she would have if it were Daryl beside her and raised her head.

"Thank you." She replied, a sarcastic smile hitting back at his. His eyes hardened and she knew she'd gone too far but before she had time to regret it, the metal doors cranked open slowly, two other men pulling heavily on ropes attached to the handles.

Beth wished she'd had time to savour it, the steps that took her out of the compound so claustrophobic she could barely breathe, but instead she clenched her jaw and ignored the part of her jumping for joy.

Drawing out the long blade she'd tentatively been given by one of the doubtful men, she took a breath.

It would have been stupid for Freenal to send her out on her own, if she'd got bitten they'd have wasted the petrol they'd spent to get her and it would have been a whole lot of hassle for nothing so Freenal gave Ben a shove as well and he followed beside Beth, his machete poised in front of him.

He and his brother had faced worse when they'd been travelling alone. They'd run and fought hoards of the dead, armed with only a hammer and a shovel but he knew Freenal would want him to leave at least one to the girl and it didn't sit right with him.

He hung back as Beth moved forward, the three walkers already shuffling toward them, following the grating noise of the metal doors.

_You've got agility on your side…don't get fancy but you can side-step and shit real easy. Don't get yoursel' cornered or between 'em cause that's just askin' for it._

She almost smirked at the memory: Daryl's rough voice guiding her as they'd tracked through the forest, a stream of advice. It'd been the most she'd ever heard him talk.

Rolling forward onto the balls of her feet she jogged forward a little to meet the first walker, aware of Ben taking a few long steps beside her, toward one on her right a little further back.

Its arms were outstretched, its rotting nails trying to grasp at her as she got closer, it's breath hacking and gritty, gurgling through a moulding throat.

"In and out, your whole body weight behind it." She murmured, reciting Daryl's guidelines for walker slaying. When she was in reaching distance she quickly dodged left, swivelling around and ending up beside it.

Before it had time to re-adjust itself, turn itself around and come anywhere near her, she sunk her knife into its head right to the hilt.

She would have cringed at the sound before, scrunched her nose at the smell. Beth from the farm would have shivered long ago, perhaps even sobbed at the idea of it all together, but here she was: in front of men that wanted to hurt her, beside dead bodies that wanted to chew the skin from her bones and savour her liver and she was standing strong.

Grabbing the walkers dirtied hair in her left hand she yanked out the knife. She watch Ben quickly dispatch of the second walker with a missing arm and ear dangling from its face without so much as a blink before turning to face the remaining one.

She knew Freenal would want her to get the last one anyway but she wanted it to sound like a choice.

"I got it" she said calmly, slowly walking toward the last as it desperately ambled down the cracked tarmac toward them. Her brown hair hung long down her back, tangled and matted and full of leaves, her clothes were tattered.

"Steady, use your core and don't budge." Beth whispered. Leaning heavily on her left foot, she swung up her right leg and drove it into the walker's stomach, trying to ignore how squidgy it felt as she fell hard to the ground. Not missing a beat she ran forward, held her foot to its throat and drove the knife between its eyes.

A few hoots and 'yeahs' rang out down the road, echoing for miles but she ignored them. Ben walked over to her, wiping his machete on his jeans as he went.

"Nice work." He muttered, noticing how little pride she seemed to have in what she'd just done as she looked down at the remains of the young woman at her feet.

He averted his eyes as he noticed the dead girl's breast was exposed. Beth rearranged what was left of her cardigan to cover it again and then slowly pulled out the knife. She remembered the bodies at the barn, the little girl on the floor and her mum growling beside her, she remembered the bodies in the morgue and their makeup. The ironed suits and perfectly white shirts. She remembered the torso of the woman in the golf house and when Daryl covered her with a sheet.

She couldn't do this.

She couldn't hide Beth away forever.

She couldn't be like Megan and hide away in pretend strength and confidence.

She needed to get out now before she lost herself.

Standing up she took a breath and looked over at Ben. Freenal and the rest of the group made their way toward them and she heard his voice loud and clear above the muttered appreciation of the others. "Good job there little lady, ready for more?"

He gestured to his right and clicked a key in his hand, a car beside them beeped, its door unlocking.

Beth simply nodded and slid into the passenger seat, Ben quickly folding himself into the back as Freenal walked around the front.

"Please don't do anything stupid." She barely heard Ben's panicked whisper before the driver's side popped open and Freenal sat down heavily beside her.

Swallowing, she sat rigid, her gaze on the road in front of them as the engine started, not daring to look in the wing mirror to see a undoubtedly anxious Ben behind her.

She couldn't reassure him and she wouldn't but she knew he wouldn't sell her out, not until he was sure and she wouldn't give him the opportunity to; she'd be gone before he knew what was happening. Before she could realise how much shit she'd leave him in and before she could remember Carla and the rest of the women who'd simply take her place.

She had to find the others…even if it killed her; cause she'd rather be dead, halfway toward them, than alive and so far away.

**Pretty please review and let me know if I'm on the right track.**

**The long awaited reunion is scheduled for the next chapter so hold onto your hats ladies and gentleman, you're in for an emotional ride. **


	7. Chapter 7

**In response to a guest reviewer, Beth is only maybe a day behind the others at the beginning of this chapter because I sped her timeline up in the last few chapters with more time spent on Daryl's group. So by the next chapter she'll be all caught up. **

It didn't take long for the two car convoy to get to the mall, bumping over pot holes and skidding around corners. They weren't worried about wasting fuel, they were arrogant in the amount they had, sure that it'd last them long enough for them to find another town to exploit.

Ben sat silently in the back, his body shrugging up and down with the car, his eyes fixed on the back of Beth's seat. None of them had said a word and they still kept silent as they pulled up on the side of the road, the tall mall poking its way above the other abandoned structures that surrounded it.

They heard the slamming doors of the car behind them and Beth watched in the rear view mirrors as the five other men filtered out of it, her eyes avoiding Ben's by studying Tyler. He swaggered so hard across the tarmac that it looked uncomfortable before standing beside their car, his stance wide as he waited for Freenal to get out.

He was too busy checking the ammunition in his hand gun to notice they were all waiting and even if he had he wasn't hurrying. After what felt like an age of uncomfortable, stagnant silence, he took a breath and shot a quick smarmy smile at Beth before pushing open the door and confidently stepping out.

Beth quickly followed suit, not wanting to be left with Ben and his anxious eyes.

"Right then. Tyler and James, you head the group." He ordered pointing at the creep and the balding, sweaty man. "I'll back us up with Daniel. Dylan, you and CJ take left and right and Ben and Beth…you just stay in the middle and look pretty."

The rest of the men snorted unattractively as if it were the best joke they'd heard in a while but Beth merely rolled her eyes. Really, she didn't want to be anywhere near Ben, the only man to realise how immediate her ability to escape could be, but she didn't want to be near any of the others too. He was the best of a bad bunch and just cause she was stuck with him didn't mean she'd have to answer any quiet questions.

"Eyes peeled, quiet steps…you know the drilled." Freenal finished, motioning them to start walking.

They didn't stay together like her family did. They weren't like the well-oiled machine she'd seen in action at the prison that darted in and out arms outstretched and reaching for each other to keep each other safe, these men were too proud for that. Each man walked alone, arrogance before safety.

It didn't bother her though, the further they were from her the better and if they ran into a group of walkers it'd be even easier for her to dodge out of the way and into the treeline. They'd be too busy fighting individually to think of the rest of the group and how it was one member short.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing…don't do it." Ben murmured beside her.

They'd been walking for a good twenty minutes, slowly scouting around corners and manoeuvring their way toward the mall.

His lips barely moved as he spoke, his hands still firmly wrapped around his machete and his eyes slowly observing their surroundings, bouncing off each of the men and checking they weren't in hearing distance.

Beth held her head high and looked at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged. She never was a good liar. He scoffed and shook his head.

"Don't play dumb Kim, you try something we're both fucking screwed you know that right?"

This time she didn't reply, resolutely staring around her, ignoring him and hoping for a walker…something to stop him from looking at her so intently.

He was waiting for her to do something, something so obviously stupid that he'd be forced to tell Freenal what was going on. Ben had seen that look in her eye when she'd drawn her knife out of the walker. It was strength and desperation meshed into blue eyes and when he'd seen her stand, her shoulders back and face stony he knew she'd made up her mind. She wasn't going back to the compound, whether that meant a bullet in the head, a walker bite or perhaps even a happy reunion with her prince charming from the parlour, he knew she was leaving.

Every time he opened his mouth to say something though, his throat closed up. He imagined his little cousin Sophie, how she would have looked just like Kim if she'd had the chance to grow up, imagine what he'd do to get her out of a place like this. Absolutely anything.

Beth strode forward, staying perfectly in-between the men around her, never favouring the right or the left, her hand always on her blade.

Footsteps crackled over loose stones and leaves rustled as she thought over what to do.

She'd already decided she would wait until the mall. Here there weren't enough distractions: one quick dash into the woods wouldn't be quick enough, they'd either nail her with a gun straight away or catch up and make her suffer, drag her back to the camp and pass her around like a unwanted toy. She'd have to wait for noise, a chance to disappear around a corner when they had something bigger to worry about.

!

"Mall's just behind this corner here." Freenal whispered, motioning behind him. Beth stuck her head out a little, trying to spot anything in the distance but Ben stood in the way, his large back blocking any view she might have had.

He wasn't being very subtle. His eye were darting over to her more frequently as they got closer to a growing murmur of moans in the distance.

"Sounds like a herd." Freenal continued, his mouth curling up in a sneer of distaste. "And as much as I'd love to chop down a few of them, we head back if it's too risky."

Tyler huffed slightly, his fingers itching at his sides as they stood in a small, uneven huddle. He'd been complaining the whole way there about a lack of walkers; said he couldn't wait to feel the 'life' drain out of any of the mouldy shit heads he came across. "How many is too many?" He asked, trying not to sound too impatient and balking a little at the sharp look Freenal gave him.

"Shut up Ty, we'll find out soon enough." The bald man spoke up beside him. Tyler looked like he wanted to argue but Freenal had taken a step around the corner before he could.

Beth followed behind, anxious to get as close to the other kind of 'undead' danger as physically possible.

Thirteen of them were wandering aimlessly through the streets, their jaws slack and eyes vacant as they shuffled around each other.

Beth noticed a few off-shooting streets and if she were with her group she'd warn the men of stranglers hanging back down them, ready to file out and surround them when they made a noise, but instead she stayed silent, trying to fight a smile as she imagined a swarm descending on them.

They'd stomp around, make noise, grunting and yelling at each other as they fought them off and she could quietly and gracefully dodge her way out of there, run off before they cut their way through the walkers.

That would be the best case scenario.

Not one part of her flinched as they walked toward the biters…not one inch of her hesitant to act out her plan despite the minature chance of success.

"Let's get em boys."

How they had lasted this long she had no idea. She could see Freenal's jaw clenching at the childish way the men rushed forward, all five of them desperate to get their fair share of maiming and decapitation.

She could almost see Daryl slowly and purposefully treading forward, silently scouting every possible entrance and exit, leaving nothing to chance and never leaving any of them exposed.

He put all these douchebags to shame.

Freenal, Beth and Ben stayed further back. Beth, waiting and hoping for shit to hit the fan, Freenal, watching his monkey minions slay the geeks with a sick satisfaction and Ben torn between watching the group and Beth nervously.

"Tyler, behind you." Freenal rushed forward, muttering about idiots under his breath. Tyler had been too busy gloriously smashing the shit out of one walker that he'd neglected to imagine there could be more. Freenal managed to get there just in time, stabbing the geek in the skull and slapping the man in the head for good measure.

Ben and Beth hung back, still walking forward and a few feet between them.

"I know what you're doing." He said nervously.

Beth huffed and rolled her eyes, going for nonchalant but coming across forced. "And what exactly am I doing Ben?"

He didn't get a chance to reply.

Both of them stopped sharply, their hands instantly going to their weapons as walkers filed through alleyways and into the wide main road.

Beth's heart jumped to her throat despite her desperate wishing for the exact thing to happen.

She turned to look behind her, her hair sticking to her sweating neck and saw a few stragglers ambling toward them, herding Ben and Beth toward the other six men.

"Shit." Ben muttered sharply before running forward, his eyes on the twenty or so geeks bearing down and splitting up the already dispersed group. Disorganised yells rang out, desperate bullets being fired and hitting targets all around.

It was a dire situation but she knew they could fight their way out. As shit as they were, they were stubborn and she knew she didn't have long. This was what she was waiting for after all.

Walkers had stopped milling out from an alley on the left side of the road. If there were anymore, they'd have already made their way to them, the gunshots would have drawn them out if the shouts hadn't but she'd have to go further forward to get there, closer to the group and closer to the walkers that hadn't noticed her.

She wasn't drawing attention, she was only a motionless little thing, not the lumbering loud apes further down, but she could hear the walkers behind her, the guttural groans straining at her ears so she took a few steps forward.

Her feet moved quicker, silently against the tarmac and her eyes on the alleyway, paying attention to the moving pieces in front of her. Chest moving fervently, beating out a samba and uncomfortably sinking her stomach, she was stuck between wanting more walkers to draw out the distraction and wishing the ones before her would disappear so she could slide away all the quicker.

Hunting knife met the first head on, slipping through its eyes and scraping against its skull. Yanking it out her eyes desperately looked back to the group, the tenseness still holding her shoulders as she saw there were only around ten left to deal with.

Tyler spotted Beth after smashing the brains of the walker against the ground with his steel boots.

Her eyes widened, convinced he'd see right through her plan. She was only one walker away from the alley and the thing was so slow it was pitiful; he must have seen the way her fingers stretched toward the opening.

"More over here boys."

Beth's breath left her all at once in relief as she saw his eyes peering over her shoulder as he strode her way. Behind her, twenty or so more walkers had gathered. She'd heard their shuffling but not realised just how many of them had congregated.

Unconcerned with her own safety she held back a relieved, satisfied smirk as the seven men finished with the walkers that had surrounded them and marched toward the ones behind her. Their faces were splattered with blood and the knives that were out were slick with brain matter and black gunk.

Ben and Freenal were the last to pass her as she started stepping to the left, her eyes flickering between them and the last lame geek in her sights. Freenal spared her a cold glance, disdain for her singular kill streaming out of his eyes. Ben slowed down as he got closer to her, his eyes curious and jaw clenched.

He looked as if he was about to say something. He wanted to tell her that he'd seen her staring longingly at the alleyway and that he knew that after she cut down the last walker she'd be gone.

Ben knew he should grab her, drag her toward the group and hand her over to Freenal, let him know what was going on, but he couldn't.

His brows furrowed in worry and confusion, his mind switching sides and his fingers itching.

Beth's eyes were wide and staring back at him.

He could stop her, right here right now. Stop her from having a chance, turn her back around to the camp, turn cold and a blind eye on the day she would have to choose her husband. She wouldn't get to see the others ever again. Maggie, Glenn…Daryl.

Kim was gone, stripped back to a desperate Beth in a few seconds that felt like a lifetime, an inner struggle surrounded by the undead and destruction.

Finally taking him seriously and her gaze pleading, she spoke. "Please."

His shoulders slumped, her small voice completely breaking him down. Harsh eyes couldn't hold her soft ones for that long.

She took a step back, the last walker still lumbering toward her from the left.

And he let her.

His dark, tired eyes fell down and he turned, forcefully striding back toward the men.

He entered the fray, his forearms decidedly tense and strong.

Beth turned and quickly struck down the last walker in her way. It fell, slumping sideways, black blood seeping out of the hole she made in its head.

Hearing the grunts behind her, the shouts still echoing, she didn't want to look back. She didn't' want to risk catching one of their eyes and doubting her move.

Blonde hair whipping around her face, knife in hand and small shoulder set back, she took the smallest section of a second to ground herself before she threw herself forward.

She'd almost made it, her small body rounding the corner and seeing how empty it was. A free smile lit up tentatively on her face and her cheeks shuddered, her feet strongly hit the tarmac.

"HEY."

A rough, gruff yell boomed in her ears before she felt the harsh shove on her shoulder blades. Already at full run, her pace threw her into the brick wall to her right. Beth's cheek ground against it, her head bouncing off and her breath leaving her. Her hunters knife clattered against the ground, bouncing around and coming to a stand still too far to reach.

Adrenaline surged through her veins and she quickly turned to face Freenal, meeting his angry eyes that shook, livid and evidently aware of her decision.

She went to shrink back, shake under his strength and the harsh grip he had on her soft biceps but suddenly and all at once, her anger surged almost rivalling his. What claim did he have over her? Why did he think he had the right to own her? Keep her?

_Someone attacks you, you play dirty. There ain't no rules in surviving Greene. _

With every ounce of strength left in her she quickly and sharply brought up her knee and drove it into his crotch.

His grip loosened and his mouth dropped in pain, the veins in his neck sticking out and stretching.

A breathy wheeze blowing into her face.

Her back scratched against the wall painfully as she slipped from his grip, her legs already burning as she pushed them harder than she ever had before.

Freenal turned, using Beth's own momentum against her and using one quick shove at her lower back to send her sprawling. Still crouched over and breathless he threw himself toward her as she rolled over, her eyes squeezed in pain and blood dripping from a new deep scratch above her eyebrow where it had caught on a stray stone.

"Fuck." He wheezed in pain, moving to straddle her and his breath heavy as he used his weight to pin her down. She struggled beneath him, a whimper escaping and a scream on the way but it was cut off when he drew back his fist and drove it into her face.

Beth's head snapped back into the concrete and her vision blurred. Black spots swarmed beneath her eyelids and her mouth fell open. She should have been starting to fight back but she felt her limbs soften, ready and waiting for unconsciousness as he hit her again.

Her eyes slammed open as his large, heavy hands wrapped around her throat.

She saw no way out. Her legs were trapped. Her hands were clawing for his face but falling short. She tried to pry off his fingers one by one, use her nails to gouge the skin but they simply tightened.

Her eyes started to wander, dizziness taking over and a mist descending through her mind.

A thump that didn't embedded itself in her face and the release of his fingers around her neck threw her back into reality. She hacked and coughed, scratched at her throat, reassuring herself that his hands weren't there and desperately searched around till her gaze landed on the two men.

Ben was stood there, his gun against the back of Freenals head as the leader leant awkwardly and disorientated against the brick wall, a red mark blossoming at his right temple where the butt of Ben's gun had struck.

Beth struggled to her feet, staggering a little as blood dripped into her eye and her head swum.

"Run." Ben said shortly. He gulped, his hand holding the gun shaking.

She took a breath.

_Move Beth. Fuckin' move girl._

She had to go, she had to run. If she stayed she was dead but Ben looked so young in that moment. So apprehensive and scared.

He knew he was dead but he couldn't have let her be snuffed out. If he hadn't had stopped Freenal he would have killed her, no matter how much she cost and her face would have haunted him. A weird amalgamation of Kim and Sophie would swarm his conscience forever. What was the point in surviving this shit of a world if you couldn't live with yourself?

She hadn't known that was what she wanted but as she went to say them so knew her offer was real.

"Come w-"

"They'd follow, they wouldn't give up." He said desperately, cutting her off, his sweaty hands gripping at the gun like the short-lived lifeline it was. "Just fucking GO" The words burst from him urgently as he looked fearfully over his shoulder, only waiting for the rest of the men to finish off the other walkers and turn the corner.

They'd kill him.

She knew they would.

But if they caught her too it'd all be for nothing.

She took a couple of steps backwards and then, with one last look at the man she got so wrong, she turned and ran, disappearing into the forest.

* * *

Branches swept at her skin and the leaves welcomed her as she fought through the undergrowth.

She staggered, her legs unsteady.

Swiping at the wet, sticky blood that was congealing slowly above her eyes, she cringed.

Her head thumped tightly under her skull, surging heat washing around the back of her eyes.

She couldn't think of what was happening to Ben. It wouldn't make her turn around and she knew that logically she couldn't have done anything but she couldn't stop it hurting, so she blocked it out. Gathered it up in tearful eyes and bloody hands and squashed it deep down.

Beth grabbed at the trees trunk around her, desperately trying to stay upright, slamming into more and then propelling herself off them.

She hadn't heard anyone follow her, no footsteps crunched apart from hers and she knew she needed to find shelter. If she ran into anyone, walker or otherwise, she had nothing to defend herself with.

There had been no time to grab her knife.

Feeling her skin heating up and her vision closing in slowly from the sides she knew unconsciousness was coming. She tried to ward it off, stretch open her eyes and dig her nails into the palm of her hands but she knew it was useless. Nowhere was safe, not in these woods: walkers would be roaming and the only effort she'd made to cover her tracks was when she'd walked half-dazed through a shallow river not too long ago, but she couldn't carry on.

_Somewhere high up or low down, somewhere concealed. As long as yer quiet and hidden you should be alright in a thick bush, but only if yer desperate. _

Scanning around her, she saw what she was looking forward and throwing herself to her knees before she could fall, she crawled under the large, densely leaved bush and slumped over.

Her breathing slowed as she shuffled around quietly, head sharp and jaw clenching. She lay back, breathing heavily and knowing she had to take off her over shirt. She couldn't risk getting her wounds dirty so leaving her head mashed into the dirt wasn't an option. Awkwardly manoeuvring and squeezing her eyes shut in pain she managed to shrug out of it, carelessly shoving it where she imagined her head would fall.

Leaves pressed into her sore hands as she tried to lower herself gently.

She felt stupid. Daryl would never let himself get into a situation like this; weapon less, unsheltered and injured. He'd have had a backup plan and she cursed herself for not even attempting to sneak out some supplies. The chance of her surviving now was slim to none and she wasn't naive enough to not know it but a small smile still managed to break through her broken lips.

Beth had got away.

**I had to split this mons****ter chapter into two but never fear, the next one (the reunion!) will be up tonight**.


	8. Chapter 8

**So, here goes. I really hope you guys like it. I spent so long writing and re-writing so I hope it's up to scratch.**

She woke the next day, guessing it was early afternoon by the way the light filtered in through the leaves dancing around her in her nest. She had lain there for a while dazedly watching them shift and shutter in the breeze, warm enough and safe enough to warrant a conscious rest before making herself move.

Slowly and cautiously she sat up, doubting how steady her head felt and wary of the vision she'd lost in her right eye. She could feel it all swollen, hot and puffy under her fingertips. The cut over her left eyebrow seemed to have dried up and even though her cheek stung with the burn from the brick wall it seemed to be settling down, the new layer of skin slowly cooling.

Heaving herself up and out of the surprisingly soft and safe cubby, she looked around her, waiting with baited breath to hear a snap of a twig which would bring on a walker or someone from the compound.

It took a while before her shoulders relaxed and noticing how desperately dry her mouth was, she quietly headed back to the river she knew was only a few minutes away.

Flies hummed over the surface and algae swum up the sides but as Beth kicked off her sneakers and stepped into it she let out a satisfied sigh. Cool water spread around her aching feet and leaning down she scooped some up and into her mouth, the fresh gulps soothing her throat and clearing her head. She sat down and went to work on her wounds, washing the loose stones from the small scratches in her knees and wiping the blood from the cuts on her face. When the water stilled she caught her reflection and cringed, her face all the more painful now she could see it.

Her right eye had all but closed up completely, mottled with purple and green shades and it only faded into more red as her cheek burned. The left side of her face seemed to be unscathed apart from the now, almost clean, jagged pink cut above her eye. Her lip was swollen, a small cut working its way down the pink cracked skin.

Fingertips softly made their way down to her neck where a wide bruise developed under the skin.

She could imagine herself crying, curling up and in on herself and sobbing over what he'd done to her but instead she managed a grotesque little grin. She'd survived the night, which was longer than they'd probably expect of her and she could almost see the proud smirk Daryl would give her.

_Yer tougher than you look Greene. _

"Damn straight Dixon"

Great, now she was talking to herself, as if she didn't look crazy enough before. She let out a snort and regretted it as her face burned in retaliation.

She finished washing herself up, drank as much water as she could, not knowing when she'd come across the next fresh source and having nothing to hold any in, and spotted a sharp, thick stick beside her.

It was better than nothing. She wrapped her hand tightly around it as she steadily stood, her head whipping around her, checking for any signs of movement before quietly making her way through the forest. Apart from North, she didn't know where she was going as she silently traipsed through the forest, the sun slowly making its way down the sky. She knew she needed to find somewhere to raid; she knew how to build a trap but not how to make rope and she needed to eat soon.

Daryl would make his way to the nearest house, cautiously scout it out, check rooms and supplies and set up a line to alert them to any walkers…so, even though she had no idea where the nearest town was…that was what she would do.

* * *

Seven hours later and Beth was still wandering through the woods, hoping to God she hadn't been going in circles and nibbling slowly on berries she'd plucked from a nearby bush. Her limbs ached, pushing on and groaning slightly under her slight frame. She'd already debated stopping twice, setting up another nest somewhere and resting for the night but she knew she had to press on with the daylight she had.

Walls, a roof and a locked door that's what she was yearning for. Just a house. One little house, for one little woman that's all she was asking for.

Smothering a yawn behind her hand she stopped and turned around in a small circle. Her eyes darted from one tree to the other, watching for movement until they rested to her left.

She noticed the trees thinning out and she strained harder, willing her gaze to zoom in. Her heart hammered and her steps followed her desperate wishing.

A small smile crept over her lips, cracking at the edges and swelling through her heart as she spotted concrete and a looming structure. Her pace quickened, crunching through crisps leaves and digging into soft mud. She tried to keep her hopes down, rationally knowing it could be a burnt out shell of a farm house, taken by the undead and a death trap for a girl with a sharp stick for a weapon but she couldn't help herself. She'd made a plan. Beth had made a plan and it was following through.

Reaching the tree line, she stopped abruptly. Minutes passed as she stood there, one foot in the overgrowth and one further forward, daring herself to move.

She could see it clearly now, the little house a little way a ways and its little friends lined up opposite and beside it. A row of middle class houses, porches lining them all. Over grown grass tickling the bottom of their windows and an occasionally slain walker scattered across the road.

The sky started to burn orange and pink, clouds dashing across as the wind breezed past and the moon readied to rise. Beth's face revelled in the coolness, her skin dewy over scabs and bruises.

She'd never scouted a house on her own. Never sidled around corners and checked every cupboard…but she had seen Daryl do it.

_Don't go in guns blazin' and you're fine_

Taking a breath and readying herself, she held her sharpened stick tight in her right hand and took a step forward.

* * *

"I thought you were sticking together?" Glenn asked, his eyes darting between the three who looked between each other. His mouth was poised in a perfect 'o' of confusion.

The three had seen the way Daryl's shoulder had slumped so decidedly when Maggie had shown them all the golden strand of hair.

They'd all noticed how dead his eyes had gone when Rick suggested heading back for the day, the loose way he'd held his crossbow at his side when he'd told them he'd stay back and check again. Rick, Maggie and Michonne hadn't argued. None of them thought it was a good idea and Rick offered to stay back too but Daryl shook his head so resolutely, so dejectedly that they'd felt forced to leave him to it.

Glenn knew Daryl would be able to handle himself and the others were sure in it as well but it still didn't sit right with them as they gathered on the porch of the boarded up house.

The rest of the group were inside. Glenn had assigned the sleeping arrangements and he and Carl had taken shot guns and claimed deck chairs on the porch to wait for the others. Sasha, hearing the arrival of the others joined them, distributing the food they'd rationed for that night.

Silently, they all ate and silently they all resolved to wait for Daryl as the sun started to set and the night started to hum.

* * *

Beth looked left to right cautiously with her back pressed against the wall of the house she'd crept up behind. Her breath held and her shoulders were up and tense as she shuffled forward slightly, cringing at the scratching noise of her cargo pants against the brick.

This couldn't go wrong, she'd gotten this far she couldn't leave this world now. Not before she found the others or at least tried to.

She clenched her jaw and sidled forward again.

Slowly she stuck her head out, leaning forward and gazing down the road one way and back the other.

Murmurs of slow conversation reached her ears.

Her blood ran cold.

* * *

It'd felt like that night all over again: like she'd just been taken again, ripped away from him, leaving no trace again.

Daryl watched his feet tread through the slightly sodden mud that made the path behind the houses.

He'd debated not going back. He didn't deserve to be with their group, not if she wasn't and Maggie and the others tiptoeing round him like he was an injured dog grated on his nerves almost as much as it struck at his guilt.

She wouldn't want it though. He knew she would want him to stay with them, try and keep some kind of humanity she thought he had.

So, he wandered on, his hair hanging around his face and his crossbow dragging beside him.

* * *

Her knees wobbled slightly and she quickly pulled her head back.

Beth's face heated up, she could feel the blood harshly pumping under her skin making her breath hitch.

Her head told her to run, brace her legs and sprint back into the cover of the forest, ignore the small possibility of it being her family and go somewhere she knew she'd be safe…but she couldn't.

She couldn't run from this. There were people near her…_alive_ people and she needed to know, one way or the other. The compound men wouldn't be here, they would have headed back and they'd be no reason for them to hole up in one of these homes when they had all that set up at base, and if it was anyone else then she could maybe just suss them out and slink away if it came to it.

And if it was her family…

The sun had disappeared behind the house, dousing her in cool shade.

Glancing down at the pitiful sharp stick in her right hand she took a deep breath, trying to keep the hope bubbling in her stomach at bay.

_Keep yer head Greene_

She nodded at the memory. Daryl's voice had rippled through his chest quietly as she'd walked up behind a walker. It was the first time she calmly ended one and he'd been right there, stood steadily behind her, assurance and faith in every one of her movements.

He could be there, and she couldn't just go without knowing.

She sucked in her stomach and reasserted her grip on the knobbly stick. It was something and it was all she had in her sweaty palm as she stepped forward once more, toward the deep low mutters coming from two houses down.

* * *

"I dished his portion out, left it in the kitchen." Sasha announced before taking the others empty tins inside.

They nodded.

Rick had sat down on one the deck chairs beside Michonne, her katana propped up and leant beside her. Neither of them leant back fully, their backs straight and eyes wandering over the road, left to right and looking through windows in the houses opposite. Carl had gone inside, murmuring about a comic he'd brought with him in his backpack and Rick had silently studied the dark bags under his son's eyes as the boy traipsed through the door frame.

Glenn and Maggie were sat beside each other on the bottom of the wooden steps that led to the porch, their feet planted in the tall, fresh grass. Maggie's knees leant into Glenn's, her head resting on his shoulder.

He didn't know what to say as she twirled the solitary strand of blonde hair through her fingers so, he kept silent, kept his arm around her shoulder and kept gently rubbing her arm as she shuffled further into him.

It felt like mere minutes as the sky turned from day to early night, the stars gently twinkling and the moon brightening. The sun disappeared along the horizon, saying goodbye until tomorrow.

It was quiet. The calling of a few birds echoed through the forest behind them and the wind blew an empty can further down the road, its rattling drawing all of their attention except Rick's whose eyes were on a house two down to the right

He peered and then leaned further forward, sure he'd seen something

A flash of blonde and a slim figure

Slowly he stood, not daring to take his eyes off of the corner.

Michonne frowned following his eye line but staying seated, her hand on her katana.

"Is that…" He started, his rough voice hesitant and his face twisted in half-hope and half-confusion as he waited impatiently.

Maggie lifted her head and looked over.

"Rick?"

Glenn leaned back to look too.

A slight, slip of a girl slowly showed herself in the distance. Her tanned slim arm gripping something.

* * *

Though they couldn't see it, Beth's chest heaved, her breath heavy as soon as she recognised the bearded man stood on the porch. The group that murmured were headed by someone she could almost cry looking at.

Rick's stance was strong and solid, his left arm at his side as his right hand came up to shade his eyes from the already gone sun. His beard was longer along with his hair and she saw his mouth move. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed him.

Her eyes caught movement and she saw Michonne, the woman sat beside him, all awareness and strength. Their eyes met and Beth swallowed, wanting to search for others but scared she wouldn't find them.

She moved out even further, away from the brick wall of the house and out toward the road, keeping her eyes locked on Ricks.

Please be here. I need my sister. I need my brother. I need Daryl. I need all of them.

The man shifted his weight from one foot to the other and back again, putting his hands on his hips, his face hesitant in recognition.

She saw him go to say something else, his feet move and take a step forward but her name came from someone else's lips.

"BETH."

Maggie wasn't about to hold back. Throwing herself off the step, she stood on her toes. She didn't care about noise and the possible walkers it would attract, all she cared about was the girl down the road and if she wasn't Beth, how horribly and terrifyingly similar they looked.

Beth's heart stopped. Her body frozen. She was scared to look in case it wasn't her.

"BETHY."

Wide bright eyes and big pearly teeth exploded on Maggie's face as she started to walk toward her. She knew that braid anywhere, she knew those thin wrists and delicate shoulders more than she knew her own mind and her heart felt like it could explode with all the emotions that were diving into it.

Beth let herself look.

And there she was: her big sister, alive and passionate, loud as ever and impatiently moving toward her.

An ugly half-laugh erupted from Beth's mouth. Relief bubbling out of her and tears stinging behind her eyes. Kim was gone as soon as she'd spotted Rick, stored away somewhere deep and she let Beth fight her way through. Let her drop her stick and start to walk toward Maggie, trip a little over her own feet and then run for a few steps.

Neither of them could bear to look away, not for one second as they quickly half-walked, half-ran toward each other.

"Maggie" Beth's soft voice was watery and breaking, pleading and desperate.

And then she was there.

Maggie's strong, wiry arms wrapped around her delicate shoulders so tightly Beth could barely breathe yet the blonde one held on even tighter.

Neither of them spoke but they weren't silent, both of them giggling wildly, sniffling into each other's shoulders and desperately pressing each other closer. Beth's dirty blonde hair smashed against her sore face but she didn't flinch through the pain, only holding her closer.

Rick and Michonne held back beside each other. They hadn't smiled in so long but when they did it felt like they'd never stopped.

Beth noticed Glenn hovering behind his wife. Wide eyes holding such a huge amount of relief, his shoulders relaxed and a smile growing as the person he loved more than anything stood holding the thing most dear to her.

She reached out one of her hands from Maggie's back, stretching toward him and he didn't hesitate, striding forward and putting an arm around each of the sisters, his family safe and beside him. The three of them stood in the middle of the deserted road, a mish mash of shaking shoulders and reaching fingers, pressing lips against heads and salty grateful laughs.

A door creaked, a curious Carl walking out and then rushing to stand beside his father, Sasha and Bob stood beside Michonne, the three of them sharing thankful smiles and Bob grasping Sasha's hand.

Tara's eyes swelled with tears. Maggie had found her sister, the daughters of Herschel Greene were safe and with each other again and she felt a touch of her guilt float away, her shoulders a little less heavy. Abraham's arm fell around Rosita as they stood with Eugene on the porch.

Maggie moved first, holding her sister at arms length and her brow immediately furrowing. She'd noticed the bruises when she'd ran to her but she'd been too happy to imagine what they'd meant. Glenn's eyes darkened and he swallowed roughly. Beth tried to look down but Maggie's thumb gently touched her chin and moved her face back up.

"I'm okay." Beth said. The surety of her words was so much so that Maggie blinked and then nodded watching Beth as the girl looked over the others.

She was wishing with everything, every piece of her that she'd see _him_: dirty and sweaty, his hair falling over his face.

Nerves and sureness swarming together in the soft centre of a hard shell.

Her eyes desperately flickered over the faces, halting slightly on the new ones but moving quickly. The happiness she'd just felt, that she thought could fill her until she floated dripped away, coolness taking over her heart and her stomach closing up as she searched them again. He wasn't here. He wasn't in front of her with his cross bow and surly expression.

"Whats wrong?"

Maggie had finished inspecting her little sister's poor face and shook at the sadness she caught in her blue eyes. They snapped back to Maggie when she spoke and she took a shaky breath.

She didn't know what she'd do if the answer to the question she wanted to ask wasn't what she hoped for. She knew she'd have to carry on but she wasn't sure how if she kept imagining him wandering alone and lost. The young boy in the man's body.

Her mouth opened and her small voice stumbled as Maggie waited nervously, imagining something horrific or wretched to stumble forward with Beth's words.

"Is…is Daryl...?"

A second lay stagnant as Beth waited, her voice had been so small and scared that when Glenn finally realised her words he smiled wide and relaxed, a crisp little line of confusion at how affected she seemed to be by Daryl's absence appearing on his forehead.

Maggie breathed out a sigh of relief and a short wispy laugh accompanied her nod. "Yes, he's here. He found Rick. Found Rick, Michonne and Carl."

A sting tore behind Beth's eyes. Tears leaked down her cheeks that were bunched up beneath the biggest smile she'd let herself have in months. She laughed and every muscle in her body relaxed.

He'd found them. He'd gotten back to his family and let them keep him safe.

She grabbed at her sister and Glenn's hands and gave them a quick squeeze, standing on her tiptoes and looking further around her.

"He'll be back in a bit. We were…we were in the town, looking for you." Maggie said, drawing Beth back to her.

"Found a guy, tall fella, standing on the car that took you and drawing in walkers. Daryl knew he'd know where you were, knew he could get it out of him somehow. But the dude fell, smacked his head on the pavement and we lost your trail." Glenn said as Rick and the others drew closer. "I drove my knife through his head… so he won't be coming back but Daryl stayed, wanted to look around some more."

Beth soaked in Glenn's explanation, revelling in the image of Daryl doing something other than turning into a walker and meandering vacantly through undergrowth. He'd been searching for her and he still was.

"Where?" She asked impatiently, making to move around her sister.

"You're leaving already?" Rick asked jokingly, swooping in to give her a hug and knowing now wasn't the time to ask about her wounds. She noticed the deeper wrinkles in his forehead and the weary way he held himself and she held him tightly before letting go to do the same to Carl. It could have only been a few months since she last saw him but he'd grown so tall. Michonne, Sasha and Bob gave her wide smiles which she returned before turning back to Rick.

"I just want to…we can't leave Daryl to keep looking…I mean, I'm right here." She reasoned, her words bubbling over in her anxiousness.

"We don't know exactly where he's looking Beth. He said he'd be back, we can't go traipsing around in the dark and losing you again." Rick smiled sympathetically

"Yeah and I want to clean out these cuts." Maggie said, her voice no nonsense.

"But –"

"No Beth come on, he can look after himself."

No he can't, she wanted to say. She wanted to tell her sister how deceptive Daryl's outer strength was. How he'd closed down when he'd lost all of them and lashed out when she reminded him, but she knew he wouldn't want her to and for now she found herself half-liking that it was just between them. A secret understanding.

She nodded and followed the group as they gathered around her and walked back to the house.

The sky darkened around them.

* * *

Beth tried to hold back her tears when Maggie told her about Judith. Rick and Carl were stood opposite her, leaning against a wall and avoiding Beth's eyes with clenched jaw and tight fists as she'd been filled in. She wanted to collapse into the couch she was perched on, shake and cry, sob herself to sleep but she knew it would be selfish. It'd be self-gratifying and painful for the men across from her so she held her breath and let the tears drift down quietly, flashes of soft little fingernails and downy hair painfully flickering behind her eyes. She held herself even tighter when Lizzy and Mika's names were reverently spoken.

Sasha kept her head down when Maggie softly told her of Tyreese and when Carol was mentioned Beth's heart felt numb. Carol had been such a strong, constant woman. She'd survived so much, fought for every breath but the governor took it with one fell swoop, along with her father, someone she hadn't quite let herself mourn just yet.

The one eyed tyrant had slaughtered even the living, leaving them with holes where people they loved should have filled and she had never hated some one more.

She sat quietly eating the food they dolloped generously into a tin for her as Maggie gently cleaned her wounds. Only hissing when she got to her eyebrow.

Abraham, Rosita, Tara and Eugene had offered to take watch, let the others fill her in and get her caught up.

Glenn watched her as he held a bowl of warmed up water and cotton pads. She seemed different, stronger as she sat there despite the tears drying down her face but also weirdly the same. It was like she aged ten years. Mature but still soft. He tried not to think about what had happened to her, he knew she'd tell them when she was ready but his fists still tightened.

Beth tried to sit back and relax, rest for the first time in weeks but she found herself watching the door, the quiet murmurs of the others washing over her as she sat warm beside her sister. Maggie had suggested she sleep after she'd finished disinfecting her cuts but she'd only shook her head saying she was fine.

There was no way she could sleep and miss him treading through the door.

* * *

He found himself at the back of the house they'd stationed themselves at faster than he thought he would.

While he walked, his mind had wandered back to two weeks ago when things had been simple. He and Beth had found a comfortable quiet in a messy loud world and the first place in his life that he could have imagined calling some kind of home, along with a mutual understanding. Here, they were loud and talking for the sake of it, trying to fill an awkward silence.

Daryl let out a deep sigh and stood at the steps leading up to the back door, his crossbow hanging at his side. The night air bristled at his neck and shivered around his arms.

He hadn't found anything, he'd scoured the shops nearby from the ground up but he'd only found a few cans of beans and sachets of mug soup, he'd leave at daybreak to search the ones further back. He couldn't face the hopeful expression that would surely be plastered over Maggie's face when he walked back in, waiting for news, any news. He'd go in and keep his head down, find somewhere to settle and sleep so he'd be ready for tomorrow.

Shrugging his crossbow over his shoulder he walked up the steps toward the wooden door, already hearing their quiet, gentle voices and spotting the flicker of candle light.

* * *

Everyone fell silent as the back door pushed open, turning and swiveling in their seats to check who it was. Rick's hand hoover cautiously above his gun before he relaxed at the sight of Daryl.

The man's head was lowered, resolved to avoid their eyes, his hair hanging down and the bin bag at his side swaying as he shut the door behind him.

Beth's heart hammered from across the dim room and her hand nervously gripped at the arm of the couch, waiting for him to look up and see her. The anticipation was killing her, burning and buzzing at her fingers in the silent room.

He placed the bag against the wall beside him, his tanned strong arm reaching down carefully and she sat there, a smile working its way through her lips in the dim light of the candles they'd brought with them.

The rest of the group waited. Since he'd joined them again he'd been quieter, less eager to join in group discussions and more likely to be found on his own, wandering at the periphery, and they were a little nervous to see his reaction: whether the little hopeful girl would be disappointed with a nonchalant recognition from him.

"Soup and some beans, s'not much. I'll head back out tomorrow, more places to check." Daryl voice rumbled lowly but everyone heard what he said as he spoke to Rick who was standing against the wall in front of him.

Beth's grin fell at the stoniness of him. The smile she'd managed to coax out of him smothered with frown lines and tiredness. His head that was usually held upright and strong, was bowed.

She couldn't wait any longer. Shuffling her legs out from underneath her, she stood carefully and hesitantly.

"Daryl."

He froze with his gaze still on the floor. He'd heard her, he'd definitely heard her but he didn't look up. His breathing seemed to have all but stopped, one hand still wrapped around the strap of his crossbow as if rested over his shoulder

He couldn't stand it if it wasn't her, so he held the moment for a second longer, hope rolling through his body despite his best efforts as he tried to safeguard himself against disappointment.

Soft steps echoed through the room as Beth moved forward, dodging the table between them and walking past her family. All their eyes followed her, hating their intrusion but not able to hold back their curiosity.

Daryl swallowed quietly and allowed himself to look, his head still down but his eyes peering through his hair.

And there she was…all dirt and slightness in candlelight, watching him as she approached, her hesitancy completely leaving her as she saw a painful mix of fear and wariness swimming in his blue eyes.

She took those last few steps across the scuffed wooden floor quickly, and wrapped her thin arms around his wide waist. Holding tight, she smashed her check into her chest and closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of his cool leather vest under her skin.

He'd swayed back slightly at the small woman's surprising, warm strength. M

uscles taut from two weeks of strictness, two weeks of guilt and one mindedness were unmoving for a moment and it didn't help that he'd noticed the blue and purple bruises and blood that marred her delicate face. She was hurt but she was here.

The room held their breath.

Beth smiled softly as Daryl slowly relaxed under her chest. His shoulders came down and his arms wound around her, carefully at first, wary of her smallness, and then tighter until she could almost hide there, utterly safe.

He smelled the same to her; earth and sweat, and she the same to him.

Everybody but Maggie had looked away as soon as Daryl had moved, relief breathing through all of them and small looks of reprieve on all their faces. She watched unashamedly, parts curious and parts comforted by the utterly peaceful closed eyed Beth.

Beth's smile grew and one tugged at the corner of Daryl's mouth as he bowed his head into her shoulder. His breath tickled the back of her neck.

Right arm wrapped around her waist and his left enveloping her shoulders he realised just how much he'd missed her, how vacant and disorientated he'd been when she was yanked from him, wandering around like one of those damn walkers.

"You found them."

The relief in her breathy voice and the squeeze of her arms made him scoff softly.

"So did you Greene."

Her grin grew wider as she felt the rumble of voice against her chest and a reassuring squeeze in his hold.

Daryl didn't care what it all meant but he knew he cared about the little thing in his arms, probably more than he was willing to admit just yet, and he wasn't going to let her get taken from him again. They'd have to kill him first.

**Sheesh that was a hard chapter to write. I haven't gotten that obsessive over a piece of writing in a while so I hope I did it justice and it helped a little bit with the horrific five month wait we still have on our hands. **

**Please leave a review and let me know what you felt about it: whether you like where this is headed whether you imagined it differently and if you did, what your dream reunion would be between the pair. We've all got our own perfect scenes and I'd love to hear yours. **

**Check me out on tumblr: thewalkingdead108 **


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